Template synthesis of a new type of ordered carbon structure from pitch

New ordered nanoporous carbon materials can be synthesized using pitch and mesoporous silica materials as the carbon precursor and template, respectively. In this case, the silica material (type MCM-48 and SBA-15) is impregnated with pitch and further carbonized. After removal of the silica by acid treatment, a graphitizable carbon material with an ordered micro-mesoporosity is recovered. The preparation route as well as the characteristics of the carbon materials are presented in this paper. It appears that the use of pitch as the carbon precursor presents some advantages compared to carbon obtained by other methods. Moreover, study of the thermal stability of the carbon shows that the structural regularity is preserved upon heat treatment at 1675 K.