Nicolet is20 ftir spectrophotometer

Melting points were measured using an Electrothermal IA9100 (Profcontrol GmbH, Schönwalde-Glien, Germany) apparatus with open capillary tube and were uncorrected. The FT-IR spectra (KBr disk) were recorded on a Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS20 FTIR spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). The ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra were measured on a Bruker AV-600 spectrometer (BRUKER AVANCE II+ 600 MHz, Bruker, Billerica, MA, USA) with operating frequency at 600 MHz and 150.92 MHz using DMSO-d₆ as a solvent. All chemical shifts were expressed on the δ (ppm) scale using TMS as an internal standard. The coupling constant (J) values are given in Hz. A Hewlett Packard 8452A spectrophotometer (Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA) was used for the UV-vis absorption measurements. The photophysical study was performed at room temperature (25.0 °C) in 1 × 1 cm quartz cuvettes. The fluorescence spectra were recorded using a Scinco FS-2 spectrofluorometer (Scinco, Seoul, Korea). The elemental analysis data were obtained on an automated EuroEA3000 CHNS-O Analyzer (Euro Vector S.P.A, Pavia PV, Italy). A very small volume of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide was used to adjust the pH, which was monitored by HANNA instrument HI-2211 Bench Top pH meter (HANNA Instruments, Woonsocket, RI, USA).

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) PhenomProX (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) was used to investigate the samples’ morphology and elemental composition using Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX).
N₂ isothermal adsorption (−196.15 °C) on a gas sorption system (Autosorb-iQ, Anton Paar QuantaTec Inc., Graz, Austria) was employed to analyze the specific surface area and textural structure of the activated carbon samples. Before the analysis, the samples were de-gassed for at least 2 h at 200 °C. The specific surface area was calculated using the method of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) [40 (link)], while the non-local density functional theory (NLDFT) was applied for derived pore size distribution (PSD) calculations.
A Nicolet iS20 FT-IR spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) was used for the FTIR spectra recording. The applied wavenumber range was from 4000 to 500 cm⁻¹ with 64 scans and 4 cm⁻¹ resolution.

The fractional sieving method was used to determine the particle size distribution in the SCG sample (sieve sizes 200, 100, and 63 μm; ROTH, Karlsruhe, Germany). For the investigation of samples’ morphology and elemental composition, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX) were performed using a scanning electron microscope PhenomProX (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were recorded using a Nicolet iS20 FT-IR spectrophotometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). The applied wavenumber range was from 4000 to 500 cm⁻¹, with 64 scans and 4 cm⁻¹. A TA Instruments SDT 2960 thermoanalytical device (TA Instruments, Inc. New Castle, DE, USA) was used for thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The analysis was performed with a heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹ up to the temperature of 900 °C and under purging helium gas (Messer, Belgrade, Serbia). For the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analysis, the SCG sample was heated in a vacuum (starting pressure 1 × 10⁻⁷ mbar), with a constant heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹, from room temperature to 1000 °C (on the heater). Desorbed gaseous products were detected using a quadrupole mass spectrometer EXTORR XT300 (Extorr Inc., New Kensington, PA, USA).