Preparation and characterisation of large sized ordered mesoporous carbon film from resorcinol/formaldehyde by basic catalysts

Abstract

Large sized ordered mesoporous carbon film (OMCF) was prepared from the coassembly of resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) resin and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) with poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (Pluronic F127) under the catalyst of sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate. The evolution on morphology and structure of obtained OMCF was analysed by the techniques of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and specific surface area analyser. The effects of addition of TEOS, catalyst types, F127 dosage and pyrolysis temperature were investigated on the morphology and structure of OMCF. The specific surface area of OMCF increases with elevating the R/F molar ratio or reducing the TEOS content. When the TEOS content surpasses 4·2%, large amount of silica fibres could be found on the surface of intact OMCF (silica/OMCF composites). In comparison with sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide is more favourable as a catalyst to form OMCF.

Keywords:

• Ordered mesoporous carbon film
• Characterisation
• Self-assembly
• Silica

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 20906063), the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 20102170), the Program for Liaoning Excellent Talents in University (grant no. LJQ2012010) and the State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals (grant no. KF1107).