A novel approach for fabrication of hollow carbon spheres with large size and high specific surface area

Hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) were synthesized on a large scale using phenolic resin (PR) as carbon precursor and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as template. The as-prepared spheres had a maximum external diameter of about 1.1 mm and average shell thickness of about 0.2 mm. In addition, The HCSs had a high specific surface area of 1036 m2 g−1 and total pore volume of 0.84 cm3 g−1.

A soft template method is successfully developed to prepare high yield and proportion of hollow carbon spheres with large diameter of about 1.1 mm and specific surface area of 1036 m2 g−1 by crosslinking phenolic resin in an aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol at 403 K.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights
► Our method and product have several novel characteristics over other techniques and products.
► First of all, the synthetic processes including the synthesis of the core, the formation of the shell, and the collapse of the core, are simple and easy operational.
► Second, phenolic resin, as the precursor of hollow carbon spheres, can build up hard shell structure compared to other polymers.
► Third, hollow carbon spheres prepared by the method have large size (1.1 mm) and high specific surface area (1036 m2 g−1), providing lower density and high adsorption capacity.
► Therefore, these spheres can be used as adsorbent of hydrogen and carbon dioxide.