Abstract
Several active carbon samples with different quantities of surface oxides were obtained by annealing previously oxidised material under vacuum at various temperatures (ranging from 180°C to 900°C). Concentrated HNO3 was used as the oxidiser. The oxygen content, the pH of the aqueous slurry and the concentration of surface functional groups were determined for all the carbons. Spectral studies (FT-IR, XPS) were performed for selected samples. The heterogeneous decomposition of hydrogen peroxide was also studied. The catalytic activity for H2O2 decomposition correlated well with the acid consumption on the carbon materials. A linear relationship was derived between the oxygen reduction potentials and the logarithm of the peroxide decomposition rate constants.