Modification of the surface chemistry of mesoporous carbons obtained through colloidal silica templates

The surface chemistry of synthetic mesoporous carbons was modified by oxidation treatments with HNO3 or H2O2 to create surface oxygen groups that will improve their wettability and their ability to disperse metal particles. Synthetic carbons were produced by a simple method using silica nanoparticles as templates. Thus, mesoporous carbon materials with high surface area (865 m2 g−1) and large pore volume (1.4 cm3 g−1) were obtained. The influence of the oxidation treatments on the textural properties and surface chemistry of mesoporous carbons was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2-physisorption, temperature programmed oxidation (TPO), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR). The effect of the different oxidation treatments on the textural properties and surface chemistry depended on the oxidizing agent and the oxidation conditions. An increase in the severity of the oxidation conditions (concentration of oxidizing agent and oxidation time) resulted in a gradual decrease of the textural parameters (specific surface area and pore volume) and an increase in the number of surface oxygen groups. However, the thermal stability of carbons was not affected by these treatments.