Template-assisted synthesis of mesoporous tubular carbon nanostructure by chemical vapor infiltration method

A novel synthesis route for fabrication of tubule mesoporous carbon by chemical vapor infiltration method using a mesoporous silica template is reported. Powder X-ray diffraction and pore size analysis revealed that the nano-sized carbon material consists of three-dimensional framework structure and possesses a bimodal pore distribution with average pore diameters of 1.5 and 3.3 nm. The formation of the former pore is ascribed due to removal of the silica template, whereas the latter represents pore size of tubule carbon with ordered structure having an average wall thickness corresponding to about 1.3 layers of graphitic sheets, as verified by Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy.