Synthesis of Ultrathin Mesoporous Carbon through Bergman Cyclization of Enediyne Self-Assembled Monolayers in SBA-15

In this work, a bottom-up synthesis of at thin mesoporous carbon was developed through Bergman cyclization of enediyne containing compounds immobilized inside of SBA-15 nanochannels and followed by pyrolysis. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the occurrence of thermal Bergman cyclization inside the channels. Further heating under elevated temperature produced nanotube arrays in good yield. TEM images revealed the formation of in tubular carbon due to the microtunnels of template. Raman spectra showed moderate degree of graphitization. Formation of enediyne SAMs on a template followed by the processing sequence developed in this work is promising to construct carbon materials with various nanoscopic morphology, such as carbon nanotube, graphene, and giant fullerene.