Effect of starch as binder in carbon aerogel and carbon xerogel preparation

Carbon aerogels and carbon xerogels were synthesized through resorcinol - formaldehyde polycondensation using Na2CO3 as catalyst. The effect of soluble starch introduction in the organic gel preparation on the porous surface properties of these materials was studied. The role of the drying process of the organic gels on the changes in the surface and structural properties of these materials after the addition of soluble starch is discussed. The presence of starch in the prepared carbon xerogels results in the development of microporosity while maintaining the characteristic mesoporosity of carbon xerogels. The Brunauer - Emmett -Teller (BET) surface area increases from 309 m(2)/g in carbon xerogel without soluble starch until 685 m(2)/g when 10% of soluble starch is added. The R- value and average crystallite lattice parameters, inter-layer spacing, crystallite height, crystallite diameter and the average number of aromatic layers per carbon crystallite are discussed in function of drying step and presence of soluble starch. The surface properties were also studied by Raman and DRIFT spectroscopies.