Synthesis and characterization of corn cob activated carbon for Pb(II) adsorption with real-time monitoring using internet of things

Abstract Here, we investigate the adsorption of Pb(II) using AC derived from corn Rachis (RAC) with various carbonization temperatures: 500 °C, 700 °C, and 900 °C using KOH solution as the activator. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups and optical-dielectric function change under the carbonization process. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the presence of (002) and (100) lattice planes, indicating a graphitic phase with amorphous area ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>X</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>a</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> ) domination. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed a honeycomb-like morphology, while Energy Dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis indicated a carbon content of over 90%. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis shows the high specific surface area of each sample (&gt;1000 m 2 /g). The highest Pb(II) adsorption efficiency was achieved at 99.77%, with maximum performance at pH = 7.31, and temperature ∼26.7 °C, supported by the narrowing phonon vibration ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Δ</mml:mi> <mml:mrow> <mml:mfenced close=")" open="(" separators=""> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">LO</mml:mi> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">TO</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mfenced> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , lower electron loss function (ELF) shifts in wavenumber, higher <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>X</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>a</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:math> , and confirmed through adsorption kinetic and isotherm study. Here, we demonstrate a fresh methodology based on real-time monitoring using the Internet of Things of RAC as a promising adsorbent for Pb(II) removal with an adsorption capacity of 2.598 mg g −1 . In addition, the ability of adsorption results without stirring aids to determine their ability when applied to the environment has been studied.