Highly microporous carbon materials synthesized from fluorine-containing poly(amic acid) adsorbed in polystyrene cryogel template

•Microcellular polystyrene (PS) cryogel template was prepared by freeze-drying.•PS template/poly(amic acid) (PAA) was prepared by adsorption of PAA into the PS template.•Microcellular meso & microporous carbon material was prepared by carbonization of PS template/PAA.•Carbon material from PS template/PAA showed SSA of 2443 m2/g and micropore volume of 0.90 cm3/g.•Pendent groups containing fluorine atom helped to form highly microporous structure.

In this work, a highly microporous carbon material was synthesized through the combination of fluorine-containing poly(amic acid) (F-PAA), which can produce a microporous carbon material upon carbonization, and a mesoporous polystyrene (PS) cryogel. Carbonization of F-PAA at 1000 °C yielded a microporous carbon material with high specific surface area (SSA, ∼1300 m2/g). In addition, we prepared a PS cryogel template with microcellular structure by freeze-drying the PS solution in 1,4-dioxane. The template was then impregnated with F-PAA, followed by carbonization at 1000 °C. Interestingly, the carbon material obtained through this approach maintained the microcellular structure of the PS cryogel template even after template pyrolysis during carbonization. Moreover, the microcellular carbon material exhibited a high SSA and a large micropore volume (∼2400 m2/g and 0.90 cm3/g, respectively).

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