Porous structure and pore size control of mesoporous carbons using a combination of a soft-templating method and a solvent evaporation technique

Mesoporous carbons were prepared through self-assembly process of a composite of triblock copolymer Pluronic F127 and resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin. Mesoporous carbons with a 3D-connected carbon framework structure were formed via a formation of Pluronic F127 surfactant micelles and following polymerization of RF resin. Meanwhile, after a formation of F127 micelles and a solvent evaporation process, an inverse micelle structure of self-assembly of resorcinol-formaldehyde-Pluronic F127 was formed. The voids between the carbon particles form a porous structure. As a result, the pore size could be largely changed from 6.8 nm (for the 3D-connected carbon framework structure) to 56 nm (for the carbon particle aggregate structure). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.