Effects of nitrogen plasma treatment on the surface characteristics of olive stone-based activated carbon.

Nitrogen plasma treatment (NPT) of activated carbon (AC) at different conditions was carried out to introduce nitrogen-containing groups onto olive stone-activated carbon (OSAC) surfaces. Textural characteristics of raw and irradiated samples were analyzed by N and CO adsorption. Surface chemical functional groups were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy.