Scalable S/N Co-Functionalized Activated Carbon for Targeted Recovery of Multiple Precious Metals from Industrial Waste Streams

The recovery of precious metals (PMs) from industrial waste streams is constrained by the scarcity of adsorbents that reconcile scalable production, multi-metal selectivity, and cost-effectiveness. Here, we engineered S/N co-functionalized activated carbon to overcome these challenges by combining hierarchical porosity with an electron-enhanced surface of a multifunctional S/N network. The optimal S/N co-functionalized activated carbon (AC2) is synthesized via a scalable one-pot solvothermal method (92% yield, 0.532 kg·batch −1 ), immobilizing thioamide, polysulfide, imine, and amine functionalities onto a micro-mesoporous carbon matrix. This design enables ultra-trace PM uptake (1 μg·L −1 ) with exceptional residual levels (<0.001 μg·L −1 ) and remarkable adsorption capacities (1750, 940, and 270 mg·g −1 for Au, Pd, and Pt, respectively). Practical validation in e-waste and catalyst leachates (>96% recovery) and spiked surface water (92%–97% PM uptake with 10000 fold competing metal concentrations) demonstrates robust performance in real-world hydrometallurgical and ecological contexts. The adsorbent’s techno–economic viability is further underscored by acid-resistant reusability (>15 cycles), a 34 fold cost reduction at scale (370 CNY·kg −1 ), and over 90% lower life cycle environmental impacts. This work establishes a paradigm for resource-efficient urban mining, integrating scalable material design with critical metal recovery to address global resource circularity challenges.