Formation of graphite-derived layered mesoporous carbon materials

A novel layered mesoporous carbon (LMC) material with structural peculiarity can be obtained by leaching silica components from the high temperature treatment products of degraded graphite layers and silica nanocomposites soft-chemically synthesized from graphite precursor. Nitrogen adsorption indicates that LMC exhibits a high mesopore specific surface area with only mesoporosity of narrow pore size distribution. Structural analysis shows a crystalline disordered but a unique wrinkled layered structure inside which ultrafine carbon microtextures with three to four carbon hexagonal layers, each of which has a perfect in-plane polyaromatic ring of 2.5–3.0 nm in length, stacking along c-axis are assembled together. Mesopores are assumed to be present in the large wrinkled layers and be house-of-card surrounded by several carbon hexagonal layers. LMC with a large specific surface area but lack of active oxygen-containing groups well resists to high temperature oxidation.