Template synthesis of porous carbon in amorphous silica

Abstract

In this article we report the investigation of a porous carbons prepared by free-template synthesis from polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) and template synthesis in the pores of amorphous silicas with different porous structures. The free-template synthesis of carbon from polyfurfuryl alcohol makes it possible to obtain ultramicroporous material with a low specific surface area and pore volume. The template synthesis in the pores of amorphous silicas using the carbon precursor PFA makes it possible to create amorphous carbon materials with a various porous structure repeating the texture specific of the template. Thus, microporous carbon and mesoporous carbon with an average pore size of 14 nm are formed when using micro- and mesoporous silicas, respectively. The pores less than 1 nm form for all carbon samples by the result of carbonization of PFA. The formation and size of these pores depend on both the nature and thermal history of a carbon precursor. Other pores of carbon samples are formed by the template.