Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF POLYTECHNIC-POLITEKNIK DERGISI, 2025 (ESCI, TRDizin)
This study demonstrates the first-time use of pea protein for derivation of nitrogen-doped activated carbons, employing a systematic comparison of three different chemical activators, namely, KOH, K2CO3 and ZnCl2. The N-doped activated carbons were synthesized using a two step thermal process, involving the carbonization of pea protein followed by chemical activation. According to the XPS analysis, the surface nitrogen percentages in the as-synthesized samples varied between 3.7% and 6.8%, with the highest doping obtained by ZnCl2. High-resolution XPS scans showed that nitrogen was successfully incorporated into the carbon backbone, mainly in the form of pyridinic, pyrrolic and graphitic states. Nitrogen adsorption studies showed that KOHactivated carbon had the highest surface area with 985 m2/g, which was almost ten-times higher than the next highest obtained by K2CO3. The activations led to narrow pore size distributions with the mean pore sizes centering around 4 nm, with the exception of ZnCl2 which gave a macroporous structure. The SEM images also revealed the pore formations on carbon flat surface due to chemical consumption of carbon. Results show that pea protein is an excellent source for production of N-doped carbons. Among different activating agents, KOH is the most effective option to obtain high surface area, although leading to a lower nitrogen content.