Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Preparation of activated mesoporous carbons for electrosorption of ions from aqueous solutions

Journal Article · · Journal of Materials Chemistry
OSTI ID:1044702

Mesoporous carbon with a narrow pore size distribution centered at about 9 nm, which was prepared by self assembly of block copolymer and phloroglucinol-formaldehyde resin via the soft-template method, was activated by CO{sub 2} and potassium hydroxide (KOH). The effects of activation conditions, such as the temperature, activation time, and mass ratio of KOH/C, on the textural properties of the resulting activated mesoporous carbons were investigated. Activated mesoporous carbons exhibit high BET specific surface areas (up to {approx} 2000 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}) and large pore volumes (up to {approx} 1.6 cm{sup 3} g{sup -1}), but still maintain a highly mesoporous structure. Heat treatment of mesoporous carbons by CO{sub 2} generally requires a moderate to high extent of activation in order to increase its BET surface area by 2-3 times, while KOH activation needs a much smaller degree of activation than the former to reach an identical surface area, ensuring high yields of activated mesoporous carbons. In addition, KOH activation allows a controllable degree of activation by adjusting the mass ratio of KOH/C (2-8), as evidenced by the fact that surface area and pore volume increase with the mass ratio of KOH/C. The electrosorption properties of activated mesoporous carbons were investigated by cyclic voltammetry in 0.1 M NaCl aqueous solutions. Upon activation, the electrosorption capacitance of activated mesoporous carbons was greatly enhanced.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Sponsoring Organization:
SC USDOE - Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1044702
Journal Information:
Journal of Materials Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Materials Chemistry Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 20; ISSN JMACEP; ISSN 0959-9428
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English