The effect of silver metavanadate doping on physicochemical properties and thermal behaviour of the activated carbons obtained from waste materials was investigated. The carbonaceous supports were subjected to carbonisation at 400 or 600 degrees C. The samples carbonised at 600 degrees C have much more developed surface area and porous structure than the analogous samples obtained at 400 degrees C. Impregnation of activated carbons with silver metavanadate leads to a decrease in their surface area and pore volume. According to thermal analysis (TG, DTG) in the samples containing 1 and 3 wt.% of silver metavanadate, AgVO3 is fully decomposed to do vanadium oxide and Ag, with no intermediate products, while in the samples containing 5 wt.% AgVO3, this salt is decomposed to vanadyl species as intermediate compounds at 350 degrees C before the formation of V2O5 at 500 degrees C. Moreover, in all samples impregnated with silver metavanadate the nanoparticles of silver undergo crystallisation leading to reduction of Ag+ ions from the vanadium salt to Ag-0. (C) 2012 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.