Enhancement effect of potassium ferrate on self-activation: Significant improvement in pore structure and adsorption performance of activated carbon

[Display omitted] •K2FeO4 is first introduced into self-activation to produce activated carbon.•Fe-modified KBACs are prepared by K2FeO4-assisted self-activation.•The synergistic effect improves pore structure and adsorption capacity of KBACs.•KBACs exhibit excellent adsorption capacity for As(V), IBP, and TC. This work developed a method using bamboo shoot shells as raw material to produce Fe-modified ACs combining self-activation and chemical modification. Adding small amounts (0.5–5 %) of K2FeO4 accelerated the pyrolysis process and CO2 release, and reduced the activation energy and temperature of self-activation reaction. This increased the reaction rate and activation efficiency, ultimately significantly improving the pore structure of ACs. The addition of 3 % K2FeO4 resulted in a substantial increase in specific surface area and pore volume of AC, from 1340 m2/g and 0.72 cm3/g to 2184 m2/g and 1.34 cm3/g, respectively. Additionally, the introduction of K2FeO4 also enabled iron doping on the surface of the ACs. The improvement of pore structure and iron doping further enhanced the adsorption performance of ACs. The adsorption capacities of ACs for arsenate, ibuprofen, and tetracycline were up to 1.64, 1.50, and 2.38 times higher, respectively, than those of ACs prepared through conventional self-activation.