Synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbon materials by dry etching

A novel synthesis method for ordered mesoporous carbons is presented. The inverse replication of a silica template was achieved using the carbonization of sucrose within mesoporous KIT-6. Instead of liquid acid etching, as in classical nanocasting, a novel dry chlorine etching procedure for template removal is presented for the first time. The resultant ordered mesostructured carbon material outperforms carbons obtained by conventional hard templating with respect to high specific micro- and mesopore volumes (0.6 and 1.6cm3g-1, respectively), due to the presence of a hierarchical pore system. A high specific surface area of 1671m2g-1 was achieved, rendering this synthesis route a highly convenient method to produce ordered mesoporous carbons. A solvent-free template removal method for the synthesis of ordered mesoporous carbons has been discovered, using a carbochlorination reaction (see scheme). This process needs fewer reaction steps and simultaneously introduces micro- and mesopores, resulting in a hierarchical pore system that outperforms established mesoporous carbon materials