Control of pore structure in carbon

The present review describes the recent activities in Japan on the study of pore structure control in carbon. Special emphasis is put on the control of both micro- and mesoporosity. The details of the methods employed for this purpose are introduced. The main aim in the control of micropores is to produce molecular sieving carbon (MSC) with uniform micropore structure. Such MSCs are prepared with the following unique techniques; the carbonization of metal cation exchanged resin and pyrolytic carbon deposition from benzene over activated carbon fiber. Furthermore, high performance MSC membranes for gas separation are synthesized from the carbonization of several types of organic polymer films. For the control of mesopores, many novel methods are proposed such as catalytic activation, polymer blend carbonization, organic gel carbonization and template carbonization. The availability of these proposed methods is discussed in relation to future industrial application. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.