Ni-Doped Activated Carbon from Invasive Plants as a Potential Catalyst

In this study we synthesized and characterized Ni/AC (Activated Carbon) systems. AC was obtained through pyrolysis of golden rod's dried biomass. Ni nanoparticles were deposited on AC's surface using a wet impregnation method from a nickel nitrate solution. SEM, MP-AES and DSC-TGA techniques were used for surficial and structural characterization, while ash content was made to check mineral ingredients input. The DSC-TGA study revealed that all carbons show good thermal stability up to 900 degrees C, which is far above operating temperatures in the methanation process. For all three carbons the BET isotherms were made as well. They show that in most cases the carbon's surface is well developed and can adsorb decent amounts of metal. MP-AES helped to evaluate the efficiency of the impregnation process, which reached 76 mg of Ni per 1 g of carbon. The SEM-EDS study showed good distribution of Ni nanoparticles across AC's surface. We also made a comparison of our systems to similar materials from other works.