Synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbons by non-aqueous solvent evaporation method

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with well-developed mesopores were synthesized using evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). The triblock copolymer P123/phenol-resin/silica composites were prepared by EISA using tetraethyl orthosilicate as the inorganic source, P123 as the structure directing agent and phenol-resin as the carbon source. OMCs were obtained by the carbonization of the composites, followed by the removal of the silica template with a mass fraction 10% HF aqueous solution. For comparison, another OMC was synthesized by using ordered silica as a hard template and impregnated sucrose as the carbon precursor. The samples were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and N₂ sorption. Results indicated that the OMCs had an ordered hexagonal structure with a narrow distribution of mesopores. The optimized OMC was obtained using a P123/phenol-resin mass ratio of 1∶0.25. Compared with the OMCs synthesized by the hard template method, the new OMCs had fewer micro- and macropores.