Study and characterization of nanostructured porous vitreous carbon

Abstract

Hierarchical structures for use in supercapacitors, were made of porous carbon, containing micropores and mesopores, by different means including: i) grinding and sieving porous carbon monoliths ii) reverse microemulsion synthesis of porous microspheres and iii) production of nanostructured macroporous carbon by the “lost wax” method. The nanostructured carbon precursor resin is obtained by polymerization of resorcinol with formaldehyde in basic medium, using a mesopore forming agent. The resins are then dried and carbonized in an inert atmosphere to give porous nanostructured carbons. Then we proceeded to electrochemical characterization by cyclic voltammetry. The study of the internal structure of the material is made by combining
a focused ion beam (FIB) and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This allowed quantitative determinations and information of parameters such as surface area, pore volume, porosity and pore connectivity. The grinding and sieving process produce microparticles with full access to the nanopores. Using the inverse microemulsion process is possible to prepare nanostructured carbon microspheres, but they have less ac-cess to the nanopores due to the collapse of surface porosity. We were able to produce monoliths containing mesopores and macropores using the “lost wax” process.