The synthesis of microporous carbon by the fluorination of titanium carbide Original Research Article

Abstract Fluorination of titanium carbide with pure fluorine gas leads to the formation of a nanoporous carbon with a monodisperse pore size distribution centered at 0.59 nm. As with chlorination, a selective etching of titanium atoms from the carbide matrix occurs but at lowers temperatures (130–300 °C) than chlorination. Complementary physico-chemical characterizations such as quantitative XRD, Raman spectroscopy, solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance have been performed to determine accurately the amount and hybridization state of carbon in the studied samples. Textural analysis by scanning electron microscopy and N2 sorption at 77 K shows that titanium trifluoride acts as a protective layer which limits the transformation of the new carbon formed into carbon fluorides.