The adsorption of five N
-substituted amino acids with a 5-nitroso-6-oxo pyrimidine as substituent on a commercialactivated carbon (AC) has been studied in aqueous solution at several pH values. The adsorption processes of theseorganic compounds have been analyzed on the basis of the electrolytic behavior of the adsorbates. In all cases, theadsorption process is highly irreversible due to strong
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interactions between the arene centers of the AC and thepyrimidine residue of the adsorbates. This interaction is consistent with XPS data and HOMO-LUMO theoreticalcalculations. The adsorption of these organic compounds provides a new route for the functionalization of the ACsurface with carboxyl groups. In addition, the adsorption capacity of the AC/organic compound systems for Cu(II)ions in aqueous solution has been studied at different pH values. These systems show an increase of the adsorptioncapacity for Cu(II) compared to the AC, which is related to the AC functionalization with carboxyl groups due tothe adsorbed organic compounds.