Zinc activation of carbon is one way of chemical activation that gives higher surface area. What could be the mechanism and reaction that leads to such phenomenon?
Kindly Suggest.
The zinc chloride generally used for activation purpose is basically responsible for rupturing the surface of the raw carbon and freeing of the pores by removal of components due to its strong acidity. SO, if the free pores are available on the raw surface then the penetration of this activating agent may leads to widen the pore size. So at higher impregnation ratio, the concentration of activating agent is higher and thus provides more acidity for etching of the surface and leads to widening of the pores. Hence, it may lead to achieve mesoporous carbon. however at lower impregnation ratio this problem is not encountered ad thus microporous carbon is produced.
I hope it will help you in understanding the issue.
Regards
Sumit
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