Progress in templated nanocarbons and related materials chemistry

Abstract

The precise control of nanostructured materials, especially porous carbon materials, has been an important challenge in materials science. The template method is an effective tool for customizing the structure of porous carbon materials, ranging from the angstrom to the nanometer scale. This account provides an overview of the recent progress in templated nanocarbons and related materials chemistry in our group. While zeolite-templated carbon is a traditional ordered microporous material, graphene mesosponge is a new type of mesoporous carbon consisting mostly of single-layer graphene walls with minimal carbon edge sites. From its distinct properties, including developed mesoporosity, high conductivity, resistance to corrosion, and exceptional mechanical flexibility, a wide range of applications become feasible, spanning battery electrodes, heat pumps, and catalyst supports. For the utilization of meticulously controlled structures in metal oxide porous nanomaterials such as ordered mesoporous silicas and anodic aluminum oxides without degradation, an effective approach is to uniformly coat them with thin carbon nanolayers. Innovative approaches have also been adopted for the creation of functional materials using ice crystals as templates, which make minimal environmental impact. Moreover, investigations into template-free synthesis techniques have been pursued, involving the precise design of organic molecules and their pyrolysis. Furthermore, our group has used temperature-programmed desorption up to temperatures of 1800 °C to quantitatively analyze edge sites in carbon materials at the ppm level. This investigation allows us to study the relationship between the carbon edge sites and the properties/ functions of the carbon materials.