Black Carbon (BC) is a solid material obtainable from the remnants of incomplete burning of biological organisms or fossil fuels, which benefits pollution alleviation and soil amendment. In this study MBC was prepared using acidic potassium permanganate for inactivating heavy metal in soils. The specific surface area and pore volume of BC and MBC were measured by nitrogen adsorption and the space around the black carbon particles was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The contents of carboxyl, ester and phenol hydroxyl group on their surface have been determined. The effect on availability of Cu in soils and soil enzyme activity of MBC was also investigated. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of MBC demonstrated large micropores with looser aggregate structure. MBC featured a higher surface area (956.88m2·g-1), larger average pore size and pore volume than BC, which can improve its excellent adsorption ability. Using as a soil heavy metal passivator, MBC reduced the available content of copper in three soils significantly and MBC has the best passivation effect on copper in cinnamon soil. Comparison of the enzyme activities in three soils amended with MBC under constant moisture conditions revealed that MBC increased the activities of catalase, urease in different degrees and inhibited the activities of dehydrogenase in three soils. These findings suggest that MBC has a strong passivation ability to Cu and would be applied to the remediation of copper contaminated soil.
