On the use of mesophase pitch for the preparation of hierarchical porous carbon monoliths by nanocasting

A detailed study is given on the synthesis of a hierarchical porous carbon, possessing both meso- and macropores, using a mesophase pitch (MP) as the carbon precursor. This carbon material is prepared by the nanocasting approach involving the replication of a porous silica monolith (hard templating). While this carbon material has already been tested in energy storage applications, various detailed aspects of its formation and structure are addressed in this study. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Hg porosimetry and N-2 physisorption are used to characterize the morphology and porosity of the carbon replica. A novel approach for the detailed analysis of wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) from non-graphitic carbons is applied to quantitatively compare the graphene microstructures of carbons prepared using MP and furfuryl alcohol (FA). This WAXS analysis underlines the importance of the carbon precursor in the synthesis of templated porous carbon materials via the nanocasting route. Our study demonstrates that a mesophase pitch is a superior precursor whenever a high-purity, low-micropore-content and well-developed graphene structure is desired.