Pore structure and pore size controls of ordered mesoporous carbons prepared from resorcinol/formaldehyde/triblock polymers

Ordered mesoporous carbons were synthesized by an organic–organic self-assembly method using resorcinol (R)/formaldehyde (F) and two kinds of triblock copolymers (Pluronic F127 and P123). A hexagonal mesostructure with channel like pores (COU-1) was formed by using Pluronic F127. The pore sizes of COU-1 carbonized at 800 °C was slightly increased from 4.7 nm to 5.8 nm when the molar ratio of F127/R was increased from 0.0027 to 0.0054. When the molar ratio of F127/R was further increased to 0.0081, a 3D worm-like mesostructure (COU-2) with a pore size of 4.8 nm was synthesized. The carbons prepared with F127/P123 mixed triblock copolymers have a well-ordered hexagonal mesostructure similarly to COU-1. By mixing P123 to F127 triblock copolymer, the pore size was enlarged to 6.8 nm. The worm-like mesostructure (COU-2) with a pore size of 4.4 nm was also synthesized by using only Pluronic P123.