Mechanochemical preparation and properties of B–N doped carbon materials based on calcium carbide

Boron–nitrogen co-doped carbon materials (BNCM) have demonstrated remarkable potential applications in energy storage, catalysis, and adsorption owing to their unique structure and dual acidic and basic sites, and their efficient preparation is highly demanding. Here, we proposed a facile preparation method of BNCM by ball milling calcium carbide (CaC 2 ), BCl 3 and cyanuric chloride (C 3 N 3 Cl 3 ) at ambient temperature. The structure and composition of the BNCMs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectra, transmission electron microscope, etc ., and their adsorption performance for Congo red (CR) and methylene blue was investigated. The results show that BNCMs are nanosized mesoporous carbon materials with surface area of 385.3 m 2 ·g –1 and C, N and B-content of 74.6%, 6.6% and 2.4% respectively for BNCM-3. Furthermore, the contents of B and N can be regulated by the ratio of BCl 3 and cyanuric chloride to calcium carbide. BNCMs shows excellent adsorption performance for CR, with adsorptivity of 606 mg·g –1 at 2.1 μg·g –1 equilibrium concentration, making it suitable for the deep treatment of dye wastewater. Compared to Langmuir model, the Freundlich model can better describe the isothermal adsorption behavior. The removal rate of CR still remained 94.4% after 5 recycles. This study provides a green method for preparing boron–nitrogen co-doped carbon materials under mild conditions, which is of reference significance for the synthesis of other doped carbon materials.