Facile Synthesis of Nitrogen Self-Doped Porous Carbon Derived from Cicada Shell via KOH Activation for Simultaneous Detection and Removal of Cu2+

Abstract

Sensitive detection and efficient removal of heavy metal ions with high toxicity and mobility are of great importance for environmental monitoring and control. Although several kinds of functional materials have been reported for this purpose, their preparation processes are complicated. Herein, nitrogen self-doped activated porous biochar (NAC) was synthesized in a facile process via an activation–carbonization strategy from cicada shell rich in chitin, and subsequently employed as an effective functional material for the simultaneous determination and removal of Cu²⁺ from aqueous media. With its unique porous structure and abundant oxygen-containing functional groups, along with the presence of heteroatoms, NAC exhibits high sensitivity for the electrochemical sensing of Cu²⁺ in concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 1000 μg·L⁻¹, with a low detection limit of 0.3 ng·L⁻¹. Additionally, NAC presents an excellent removal efficiency of over 78%. The maximum adsorption capacity is estimated at 110.4 mg/g. These excellent performances demonstrate that NAC could serve as an efficient platform for the detection and removal of Cu²⁺ in real environmental areas.