Template synthesis of large pore ordered mesoporous carbon

Abstract

Nanocast carbon (NCC-1) with large pores and ordered structure was synthesized via a nanocasting process using aluminum-containing SBA-15 as template and furfuryl alcohol (FA) as carbon precursor. This carbon has several interesting features, such as two steps with distinguished hystereses in the nitrogen sorption isotherm, high surface area of ∼2000 m 2/g and large pore volumes of ∼3.0 cm 3/g. It was found that the key factors in the synthesis of such carbons are the aging temperature of the SBA-15 template, the concentration of furfuryl alcohol (dissolved in trimethylbenzene), and the carbonization temperature. The optimal conditions for materials with high surface area and pore volumes are SBA-15 starting materials aged at 140 °C, 25 vol% of FA solution and 850–1100 °C carbonization temperatures. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that such nanocast carbon can be synthesized in a more facile way than previously reported. Purely siliceous SBA-15 without the need of Al 3+-incorporation can be directly used as template. In this case, the polymerization catalyst—oxalic acid and FA were simultaneously introduced into the pore space of SBA-15.