Density Functional Theory Calculations of the Effect of Oxygenated Functionals on Activated Carbon towards Cresol Adsorption

The mechanism of adsorption of p-cresol over activated carbon adsorbent and the specific role of oxygen functional groups on cresol adsorption were studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. All the energy calculations and geometry optimization pertaining to DFT calculations were done using the B3LYP hybrid functional at basis set 6-31g level of theory in a dielectric medium of ε = 80 (corresponding to water). The interaction of cresol with different activated carbon models, namely pristine activated carbon, hydroxyl functionalized activated carbon, carbonyl functionalized activated carbon, and carboxyl functionalized activated carbon, were considered, and their adsorption energies corresponded to −416.47 kJ/mol, −54.73 kJ/mol, −49.99 kJ/mol, and −63.62 kJ/mol, respectively. The high adsorption energies suggested the chemisorptive nature of the cresol-activated carbon adsorption process. Among the oxygen functional groups, the carboxyl group tended to influence the adsorption process more than the hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, attributing to the formation of two types of hydrogen bonds between the carboxyl activated carbon and the cresol simultaneously. The outcomes of this study may provide valuable insights for future directions to design activated carbon with improved performance towards cresol adsorption.