Phenolic resin-based carbons with ultra-large mesopores prepared in the presence of poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(butylene oxide)–poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer and trimethyl benzene

The evaporation-induced self assembly (EISA) strategy has been successfully employed to obtain ultra-large mesoporous carbons (UMC) by using Vorasurf 504 poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(butylene oxide)–poly(ethylene oxide), (PEO–PBO–PEO) triblock copolymer as a template. Resorcinol and formaldehyde were used as carbon precursors, whereas trimethyl benzene (TMB) was used as a pore expander. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms revealed that the resulting UMC materials possess ultra-large mesopores (about 27 nm) and relatively narrow pore size distribution. Mesoporous carbons synthesized without TMB show also fairly large mesopores (about 20 nm). These carbons were examined for adsorption of Lysozyme (Lz) from buffered solution at pH 10.8. All Lz adsorption isotherms were reasonably well fitted by Langmuir equation, giving high maximum adsorption capacity (31 μmol/g).