Preparation of tailored carbons with meso- and micro-porosity via template synthesis route

A low cost templating approach to making non-ordered carbons with a tailored meso/micropore structure is described. A series of mesoporous carbons was prepared from polyfurfuryl alcohol and phenolic resin precursors by a templating route, using a variety of commercially available silica gels as the template material. Carbons were produced with mesopore volumes up to 1 cm³ g^-1, mesopore sizes in the range of 4 nm to 8 nm and surface areas in the range of 300 to 700 m² g^-1. These mesoporous carbons were subsequently activated in CO₂ to add controlled amounts of microporosity to produce carbons with both a micro and mesoporous structure. Significantly, the activation process did not appreciably change the mesopore size distribution of the carbons. By altering the activation time, it was possible to tailor the micropore: mesopore volume ratios within wide limits.