Fast production of monolithic carbide-derived carbons with secondary porosity produced by chlorination of carbides containing a free metal phase

Hierarchical structured carbide-derived carbons (CDC) are produced by high temperature chlorination of silicon carbides containing free silicon (Si/SiC). The influence of free silicon in the precursor carbide on the resulting pore and carbon structure and production rate is studied. The two phases - free silicon and silicon carbide - of Si/SiC gives the possibility to synthesize a monolithic carbon with the typical microporous character and narrow pore size distribution combined with larger voids in the micrometer range, while the carbon structure itself stays unchanged. The study revealed that using Si/SiC material increases the production rate for carbide-derived carbons dramatically, due to higher reactive surface area and lower mass transfer limitations, which allows for the time effective production of larger monoliths. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.