Hollow shells of high surface area graphitic N-doped carbon composites nanocast using zeolite templates

Hollow shells of porous nitrogen-doped carbon materials with high surface area have been prepared using zeolite templates (zeolite β or silicalite-I) and acetonitrile as carbon source via chemical vapour deposition (CVD) performed at between 800 and 1000 °C. The nitrogen content varies between 3.0 and 7.9 wt.% depending on the zeolite template and CVD temperature. The carbon materials generally retain the particle morphology of the zeolite templates. However, when the CVD is performed at temperatures ⩾900 °C, hollow carbon shells that are hexagonal, cubic, or rectangular in shape are obtained as the predominant particle morphology. High CVD temperatures (⩾950 °C) also result in greater proportions of graphitic carbon. Carbon materials prepared below 950 °C (with zeolite β as template) have high surface area (up to 2270 m2/g) and contain significant amounts of non-graphitic carbon that exhibits structural pore channel regularity replicated from the zeolite. Carbon materials templated by silicalite-I have lower surface area and do not exhibit structural pore channel ordering. It is thus possible by choice of zeolite template and CVD conditions to nanocast N-doped carbon materials that exhibit hollow-cored particle morphology, high surface area (>2000 m2/g) and zeolite-type pore channel ordering or hollow shells with significant levels of graphitization.