Facile fabrication of graphitic mesoporous carbon with ultrathin walls from petroleum asphalt

•A simple route was developed for fabrication of graphitic mesoporous carbon (GMC) with ultrathin walls.•The GMC can be prepared by pyrolysis of the mixture of petroleum asphalt and aluminum isopropoxide.•The GMC prepared possesses a narrow pore size distribution with an average pore diameter of 7.53 nm.•The GMC has a surface area of 479 m2 g−1 but a relatively high mesopore volume of 1.55 cm3 g−1.

A simple route was developed to fabricate graphitic mesoporous carbon with ultrathin walls by direct pyrolysis of the mixture of petroleum asphalt and aluminum isopropoxide. The graphitic mesoporous carbon prepared has a surface area of 479 m2 g−1 with an average pore diameter of 7.53 nm and possesses a relatively high mesopore volume of 1.55 cm3 g−1.

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