Organic and carbon aerogels from the NaOH‐catalyzed polycondensation of resorcinol–furfural and supercritical drying in ethanol

Abstract

AbstractOrganic aerogels and related carbon aerogels were prepared from the NaOH‐catalyzed polycondensation of resorcinol–furfural (RF) and supercritical drying in ethanol. The effect of the preparation conditions, including the RF concentration, molar ratio of resorcinol (R) to NaOH, and molar ratio of R to furfural, on the gelation time and bulk density was studied. The chemical structure of the organic aerogel was revealed by IR spectroscopy. The pyrolysis process of the organic aerogel was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. According to characterizations of transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption, the organic and carbon aerogels we obtained had a three‐dimensional network that consisted of around 30‐nm particles, which defined numerous mesopores of less than 30 nm. As a result, the aerogels had high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas (698–753 m2/g) and large mesopore volumes (1.09–1.64 cm3/g). X‐ray diffraction characterization indicated that the carbon aerogel was more crystalline than activated carbon but less activated than graphite. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 1429–1435, 2005