Synthesis of macro/mesoporous silica and carbon monoliths by using a commercial polyurethane foam as sacrificial template

A commercial macrocellular polyurethane foam was used as template to fabricate macro/mesoporous silica and carbon monoliths. These materials have a cellular structure which is a faithful replica of that of the polymeric foam. In addition, they have a high surface area and a large porosity made up of accessible mesopores. The synthesis of silica monoliths was carried out by impregnating the polymeric foam with a mixture of a silica precursor and a surfactant. The carbon monoliths were prepared by using the silica monoliths as sacrificial templates. They retain the foamy vesicular structure and exhibit a high surface area of 1800 m(2) g(-1) and a large porosity made up of framework-confined mesopores of around 3.4 nm. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.