ABSTRACT The contamination of water resources with phenolic compounds has emerged as a significant environmental concern due to their toxicity, carcinogenicity, and persistence in the ecosystem. Various industrial effluents, including those from petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and pesticide manufacturing, contain high concentrations of phenol, necessitating effective treatment strategies. Activated carbon has been widely recognized as a promising adsorbent for phenol removal owing to its high surface area, porous structure, and chemical stability. However, the adsorption capacity of pristine activated carbon can be limited by factors such as surface chemistry, pore size distribution, and functional groups. Surface modification of activated carbon has been explored as a viable approach to enhance its adsorption efficiency and selectivity toward phenol. Various modification techniques, including chemical treatment, physical activation, and biological modification, have been investigated to tailor the surface properties of activated carbon. These modifications can introduce specific functional groups, alter the surface charge, and enhance the π–π interactions between the adsorbent and phenol molecules. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the effects of surface modification on the adsorption capacity of activated carbon for phenol removal from wastewater. The discussion encompasses the mechanism of adsorption–desorption analysis, the FTIR analysis, and the impact of modification methods on adsorption isotherms. Furthermore, the review highlights the future prospects of using surface‐modified activated carbon for phenol removal, including the need for scalable and cost‐effective modification techniques.
Kumari et al. (Thu,) studied this question.