Optimization of practical activation depth for effective CO2 activation using PMMA-templated carbons with a tailorable pore system of meso- and macropores

摘要

For the preparation of physically-activated carbons with ultra-high surface areas that are comparable to those of chemically-activated carbons, we synthesized meso-, macroporous carbons from phenolic resins using poly(methylmethacrylate) particles as a template and activated them using CO2. Our aim was to achieve uniform activation by reducing the practical depth within the carbon which needs to be activated. Our results show that the shorter the practical depth becomes, the higher the achievable BET surface area becomes. Extremely high BET surface areas (similar to 3000 m(2) g(-1)) can be attained by reducing this depth to the order of a few tens of nanometers. We also relate the practical length of the developed nanopores with the practical depth through the results obtained from EDLC measurements. The results reveal that the shortening of the practical activation depth also leads to the shortening of the lengths of the nanopores introduced during activation.