Nanoporous carbons with a 3D nanonetwork-interconnected 2D ordered mesoporous structure for rapid mass transport

A novel type of nanoporous carbon with a 3D nanonetwork-interconnected 2D ordered mesoporous structure is successfully fabricated based on the self-assembly of triblock copolymer F127 and phenolformaldehyde resol among the nanonetwork from tetraethyl orthosilicate. The as-constructed nanoporous carbons have two unique nanostructure advantages: (1) different from common solid framework for nanonetwork-structured carbons, their carbon framework is made of 2D ordered hexagonal mesopores; (2) unlike isolated mesopores for conventional ordered mesoporous carbons, their neighboring ordered mesopores are interconnected by 3D network-like mesopores. Such a well-defined carbon nanostructure is favorable for fast mass transport, mainly because it can make full use of both the 2D ordered mesoporous structure and the 3D interconnected nanonetwork. The as-prepared nanoporous carbons exhibit great potential as adsorbents toward organic vapor and as electrodes for supercapacitors.