Synthesis of Polyacrylonitrile-Based Ordered Mesoporous Carbon with Tunable Pore Structures

Analogous to the synthesis of CMK-3, ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC) containing nitrogen groups were synthesized using mesoporous silica SBA-15 as a template, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a carbon source, and 2,2‘-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. Before carbonization, PAN/SBA-15 composites were treated in air at low temperature to stabilize the PAN to increase the carbon yield. After carbonization and removal of the silica template, PAN-based OMC can be obtained. Samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, nitrogen adsorption, and elemental analysis. The results show that the pore structures of PAN-based OMC are tunable over a certain range. When the stabilization temperature and carbonization temperature are changed, PAN-based OMC with either monomodal or bimodal pore size distributions can be prepared.