Utilization of waste cation exchange resin to prepare carbon/iron composites for the adsorption of contaminants in water

Carbon/iron composites were prepared from waste cation exchange resin by NaOH activation. The BET surface areas were over 1200 m2 g−1. The presence of iron led to the formation of new mesopores and macropores. Activation temperature had a significant impact on the pore size distributions, crystal structures, and magnetic properties of the carbon composites, and the magnetic properties of the composites were related to their crystal structures. The composite synthesized at 800 °C (800ACS-1) could effectively remove diethyl phthalate, bisphenol A, and malachite green from aqueous solutions. 800ACS-1 also exhibited high stability over a wide pH range of 4–11.5.