A facile route to the synthesis of carbon replicas cast from narrow-mesoporous matrices

Abstract

Carbon replicas find a variety of applications in chemical sciences and even in medicine. However, tedious synthesis hinders their application to the laboratory scale hitherto. Here, we develop a facile procedure for the synthesis of CMK-1 and CMK-2 materials cast from narrow-mesoporous hard templates, i.e. MCM-48 and SBA-1, respectively. The proposed recipe is reproducible, operates under mild conditions using basic laboratory equipment and a renewable carbon source (furfuryl alcohol). It relies on the solvent-polarity-controlled deposition of a polar carbon precursor on unmodified silica in a non-polar medium. Such a self-regulating process provides even coverage of the matrix with polymer leading to the formation of carbon mesostructures of exquisite replication fidelity and structural homogeneity while maintaining the primary morphology. The in-depth study of physisorption data employing the dual gas model (simultaneous N2 and CO2 fitting) disclosed the mixed, micro-mesoporous nature of the materials. This tool was found to provide a fair, comprehensive textural characterization, especially useful for materials with pore sizes on the boundary between micro- and mesopores. Therefore, this research paves the way for the manufacturing and application of CMK-1 and CMK-2 carbon replicas on a larger scale. Additionally, it provides certain hints for the robust textural characterization of such materials.