Pore structures in shungites as revealed by small-angle neutron scattering

The analysis of the small-angle neutron scattering data from shungites, one of the natural forms of carbon, is reported. Samples from different deposits are investigated. It is shown that shungites have a complex pore structure at a nanoscale of 1–100 nm depending on their origin. Along with it, common features, in particular, two-level organization at the given scale can be observed. The absorption of deuterated water by shungites is used to match the scattering from open pores and to separate the information about the open and closed porosity in the samples. The revealed structural units are compared with the previous experimental results obtained by the complementary techniques.