Hollow Carbon Spheres with Abundant Micropores for Enhanced CO₂ Adsorption

Abstract

The interest in the design and controllable fabrication of hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) emanates from their tremendous potential applications in adsorption, energy conversion and storage, and catalysis. However, the effective synthesis of uniform HCSs with high surface area and abundant micropores remains a challenge. In this work, HCSs with tunable microporous shells were rationally synthesized via the hard-template method using resorcinol (R) and formaldehyde (F) as a carbon precursor. HCSs with a very high surface area (1369 m/g) and abundant micropores (0.53 cm/g) can be obtained with the assistance of additional inorganic silanes (TEOS) simultaneously with the carbon source (RF). Interestingly, the extra-abundant micropores showed favorable adsorption for CO, resulting in a 1.5 times increase in the CO adsorption capacity compared to that of normal HCSs under the same conditions. Meanwhile, these HCSs hold potential for use in the separation of gases such as CO and N.

Engineering stable interfaces for three-dimensional lithium metal anodes

“…Despite the continuous surface implied by electron micrographs ( Fig. 2 , C and E), the carbon shell has sub–2 nm pores ( 29 ), which allow HF to enter the HCS and etch the SiO 2 template [see also scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images after different etching times in the Supplementary Materials]. These nanopores serve as a double-edged sword; on one hand, they allow the SiO 2 templates to be removed; on the other hand, they also allow penetration of the organic electrolyte during battery operation, which reacts with lithium to reduce the battery cycling performance.…”

Rational Synthesis of Chabazite (CHA) Zeolites with Controlled Si/Al Ratio and Their CO2/CH4/N2 Adsorptive Separation Performances

“…[4][5][6] Accordingly,s creening suitable adsorbents with high selectivity and adsorption capacity as well as low regeneration costs is vital in achieving the separation processes with excellent overall performances. [7] To date, carbonaceous materials, [8][9][10] metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), [11][12][13] and zeolites [14][15][16][17][18] are three typical categories of candidates for CO 2 /CH 4 and CO 2 /N 2 separations. Carbonaceous materials are cost-effective and easy to scale up.…”

Carbon‐based adsorbents for post‐combustion capture: a review

“…After carbonization and HF etching, hollow carbon spheres with high surface area and abundant micropores can be obtained, which showed a 1.5 times increase in the CO 2 adsorption capacity as compared with samples without the extra micropores (Fig. ) . Besides, post‐activation and modification of templated carbons were also reported, which will be discussed in more detail in the following sections.…”

“…(a) Illustration of the hydrolysis procedure of R/F and TEOS; (b) Possible formation mechanism of HCSs . Reprinted with permission from Li X, Bai S, Zhu Z, Sun J, Jin X, Wu X, et al .…”

“…10). 183 Besides, post-activation and modification of templated carbons were also reported, 171,182,184 which will be discussed in more detail in the following sections.…”