Properties of mesoporous carbons prepared from different carbon precursors using nanosize silica as a template

Mesoporous carbons (MCs) with high-specific surface area and pore volume were synthesized from different carbon precursors (thermosetting phenol resin (TPR), mesophase pitch (MP), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN)) by using nanosize silica particles as a template. The influence of carbon precursors on the properties of as-prepared MCs was investigated by nitrogen adsorption, elemental analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results indicated that the pore structure as well as the surface chemical character of the resultant MCs differed greatly despite the preparation conditions being the same. Because the thermal stability of MP was higher and the dispersion ability of silica particles in MP/pyridine solution was poor, MC prepared from MP contained fewer micropores and mesopores compared with that prepared from TPR. In addition, MC derived from PAN had abundant nitrogen functional groups.