Rational synthesis pathway for ordered mesoporous carbon with controllable 30- To 100-angstrom pores

Abstract

A study has reported a facial synthesis strategy for the production of ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials with systematically tuneable mesopore sizes in the range of 3-10 nm, where boric acid is utilized as a pore expanding agent. A spontaneous phase separation of the boron species, which is present in the precursor silica composite and contains sucrose and boric acid within the mesopores of a silica template, takes place within the carbonization process. This is expected to result in the subsequent formation of boron oxide and borosilicate nanolayers between the silica and carbon frameworks, which may result in an increased pore size for the OMC materials obtained. The synthesis of OMC materials with controllable pore sizes uses a mixed aqueous solution of boric acid and sucrose. The study has also suggested that OMC materials with tuneable pore sizes are expected to be highly beneficial for various practical applications, such as catalysis, adsorption, and separation.