Preparation of Nitrogen-Containing Carbons

Peat is relatively rich in nitrogen, and activated carbons prepared from peat, such as Anthralur, are quite good catalysts. Activated carbons produced from wood or coal also contain small quantities of nitrogen. A logical step is to carbonize nitrogen-containing organic polymers such as poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) 

A simple way to produce polymers with specific nitrogen functions in controlled concentration is to prepare phenol-formaldehyde resins in which part of the phenol is substituted by aniline (for amine-type nitrogen) or 

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been used to obtain deposits of nitrogen-containing carbon on the surface of other carbon materials. A helium stream with an added aromatic compound such as benzene [28] or pyridine 

An early and freqnently nsed method for nitrogen doping was the treatment of activated carbons with ammonia at high temperatnres (e.g., 873 to 1173 K) 

When activated carbons were regenerated with steam, CO2, or NH3 at 873 to 1073 K after adsorption of perchlorate ions, the rate of mass loss was higher with H2O than with CO2 or NH3 as the activating gas. The nitrogen content of an activated carbon doped beforehand by NH3 treatment at 973 K decreased much more in further gasification with steam than when CO2 or NH3 were used as the activating agent [45]. 

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