Foaming Effect of a Polymer Precursor with a Low N Content on Fabrication of N-Doped Porous Carbons for CO2 Capture

Abstract

Because of their sufficient surface areas, developed porosities, and high stabilities, N-doped porous carbons (NDPCs) have presented an excellent CO2 adsorption ability. NDPCs are usually fabricated through the carbonization of N-containing polymers. The effect of N species enlarging surface areas and foaming pores has been confirmed. However, traditional polymer precursors of NDPCs must have a relatively high N content and give unsatisfactory structural characters and CO2 capacities of their NDPCs. In this study, an NDPC precursor code-named NUT-50-EDA with a N content of only 6.4 wt % is prepared, while the amino groups in the precursor still play a significant role in the porogen during the carbonization process. The generated NDPCs show more abundant micropores, larger surface areas, and higher CO2 adsorption capacities compared to those of the counterpart porous carbons (PCs) made from the precursor without ammonification. With a relatively low N content (1.5 wt %), NDPC-700 with a large surface area...