Paracetamol adsorption in acidic, neutral and basic media on three activated carbons with different chemistry surfaces was studied. A granular activated carbon (GAC) was prepared from coconut shell; starting from this sample, an oxidized activated carbon (GACo) was obtained by treating the GAC with a boiling solution of 6 M nitric acid, so to generate a greater number of oxygenated surface groups. In addition, a reduced activated carbon (GACr) was obtained by heating the GAC at 1173 K, to remove the oxygenated surface groups. Paracetamol adsorption was higher for GACr due to the lower presence of oxygenated surface functional groups. Moreover, adsorption was highest at neutral pH. The magnitude of the interactions between paracetamol molecules and activated carbons was studied by measuring the immersion enthalpies of activated carbons in solution of paracetamol at different concentrations and pH values and by calculating the interaction enthalpy. The highest value was obtained for GACr in a paracetamol solution of 1000 mg L⁻¹ at pH 7, confirming that paracetamol adsorption is favoured on basic activated carbons at pH values near to neutrality. Finally, the Gibbs energy changes confirmed the latter result, allowing explaining the different magnitudes of the interactions between paracetamol and activated carbons, as a function of solution pH.

The adsorption of salicylic acid, acetaminophen, and methylparaben (pharmaceutical products derived from phenol) on carbons activated with different surface chemistries was carried out. We evaluated the effect of the physicochemical properties of the adsorbent and adsorbates on the adsorption capacity. A study of the adsorbate–adsorbent interactions via immersion calorimetry in the analytes solutions at different concentrations was included, in addition to the equilibrium data analysis. The results show that the pharmaceutical compounds (2.28–0.71 mmol g⁻¹) have lower adsorption capacities in the activated carbon with the highest content of oxygenated groups (acids), while the activated carbons with amphoteric characteristics increase the capacities of adsorption (2.60–1.38 mmol g⁻¹). This behavior may be associated with the increased affinity between the adsorbent and solvent due to the presence of polar groups, which was corroborated by the high immersion enthalpy value in water (ΔH_immH₂O = −66.6 J g⁻¹). The equilibrium data, adjusted to the Freundlich adsorption model, indicated that the heterogeneous adsorption processes involve immersion enthalpy values between −9.42 and −24.3 J g⁻¹.

The discharge of synthetic dyes from different industrial sources has become a global issue of concern. Enormous amounts are released into wastewater each year, causing concerns due to the high toxic consequences. Photocatalytic semiconductors appear as a green and sustainable form of remediation. Among them, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has been widely studied due to its low cost and ease of fabrication. In this work, the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic study over methylene blue of undoped, B/S-doped, and exfoliated heterojunctions of g-C₃N₄ are presented. The evaluation of the photocatalytic performance showed that exfoliated undoped/S-doped heterojunctions with 25, 50, and 75 mass % of S-doped (g-C₃N₄) present enhanced activity with an apparent reaction rate constant (k_app) of 1.92 × 10^-2 min^-1 for the 75% sample. These results are supported by photoluminescence (PL) experiments showing that this heterojunction presents the less probable electron-hole recombination. UV-vis diffuse reflectance and valence band-X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (VB-XPS) allowed the calculation of the band-gap and the valence band positions, suggesting a band structure diagram describing a type I heterojunction. The photocatalytic activities calculated demonstrate that this property is related to the surface area and porosity of the samples, the semiconductor nature of the g-C₃N₄ structure, and, in this case, the heterojunction that modifies the band structure. These results are of great importance considering that scarce reports are found concerning exfoliated B/S-doped heterojunctions.

In this study, the mechanisms of methylparaben adsorption onto activated carbon (AC) are elucidated starting from equilibrium and thermodynamic data. Adsorption tests are carried out on three ACs with different surface chemistry, in different pH and ionic strength aqueous solutions. Experimental results show that the methylparaben adsorption capacity is slightly affected by pH changes, while it is significantly reduced in the presence of high ionic strength. In particular, methylparaben adsorption is directly dependent on the micropore volume of the ACs and the π- stacking interactions, the latter representing the main interaction mechanism of methylparaben adsorption from liquid phase. The equilibrium adsorption data are complemented with novel calorimetric data that allow calculation of the enthalpy change associated with the interactions between solvent-adsorbent, adsorbent-adsorbate and the contribution of the ester functional group (in the methylparaben structure) to the adsorbate–adsorbent interactions, in different pH and ionic strength conditions. It was determined that the interaction enthalpy of methylparaben-AC in water increases (absolute value) slightly with the basicity of the activated carbons, due to the formation of interactions with π- electrons and basic functional groups of ACs. The contribution of the ester group to the adsorbate-adsorbent interactions occurs only in the presence of phenol groups on AC by the formation of Brønsted–Lowry acid–base interactions.

The inappropriate use of pain medication has led to the appearance of salicylic acid molecules (aspirin’s metabolite excretion) in surface water, which causes problems for the environment. The adsorption process using activated carbon is one of the processes that is used for the removal of organic compounds present in the aqueous phase; however, the percentage of removal depends on the physicochemical properties of the adsorbent and the adsorbate such as: pore size, surface area, surface chemistry, molecular size and solubility. In this work, we have studied the adsorbent–adsorbate interactions through the determination of the immersion enthalpy of the activated carbon in salicylic acid aqueous solutions; due to the solute and activated carbon surface have functional groups capable of ionized with the pH, the adsorption study was carried out at pH 2, 7, and 11. The activated carbons selected for the study were a granular activated carbon and a reduced activated carbon to 1173 K; as the immersion liquid were used salicylic acid aqueous solutions with concentrations between 0.072 mmol/ l and 0.72 mmol/ l, the solutions at pH 2 and 11 were prepared with HCl and NaOH solutions, respectively. It was determined that the immersion enthalpy is between −7.39 J /g and −22.5 J/g for the reduced activated carbon and between −7.63 J/g and −16.73 J/g for the granular activated carbon.

The methylparaben adsorption from aqueous solution onto activated carbon is a relevant topic because of the toxicity of this compound for human and environmental health. The physicochemical parameters allow us to evaluate the performance of the adsorption and the relationship between the surface chemistry and the adsorbed amount of methylparaben. The effect of the solution chemistry on the adsorption was also evaluated. In this work, the methylparaben adsorption on three activated carbons with different physicochemical properties, specifically different contents of oxygenated groups and total basicity, is presented. Kinetic, equilibrium, and calorimetry tests were conducted. The maximum adsorbed amount of methylparaben was achieved on an activated carbon with basic characteristics, Q_max = 1.64 mmol g^–1; in the same activated carbon, the initial rate was 0.20 mmol g^–1 h^–1, and the value determined for the interaction enthalpy was −12.6 × 10^–20 J molecules^–1, and the Gibbs energy change was close to −14.96 kJ mol^–1.