Hierachical porous carbon structures from cellulose acetate fibers

This study describes the transformation of cellulose acetate filters into porous carbon structures by a facile, direct process. Filters from cigarettes were used as the source for cellulose acetate filters. Carbon was obtained by high-temperature treatment under inert conditions without extensive preparative methods. The resulting carbon materials showed structural features on different length scales ranging from the micrometer to the nanometer scale. The materials were investigated using imaging techniques (scanning electron microscopy, SEM; transmission electron microcopy, TEM; and confocal Raman microscopy); the internal structure was investigated with Raman spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), small-angle X-ray scattering; and the porosity was explored using nitrogen sorption analysis.