Ordered mesoporous carbons obtained from low-value coal tar products for electrochemical energy storage and water remediation

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) obtained by the hard-templating method are usually prepared using complicated infiltration procedures and/or relatively high-priced carbon precursors. In this work, OMCs were obtained using creosote, a modestly priced substance obtained from the distillation of coal tar, as a carbon precursor and an ordered mesoporous silica (SBA-15) as the template. The porous network of the template was infiltrated using a simple, one-step method in acidic medium at a moderate temperature, making it potentially scalable for mass production. Optimization of the synthesis conditions led to OMCs with a very well ordered porosity with a very narrow pore size distribution in the mesopore region, together with a high surface area. This material was tested as an electrode for electrochemical energy storage devices and as an adsorbent for pollutant removal. Owing to its well-developed hierarchical pore network, the present OMC showed a good performance as a supercapacitor electrode in aqueous electrolyte and high rate of methylene blue dye adsorption.