Preparation of high surface area, graphitic porous carbon monolith using magnetite nanoparticles as catalyst and porogens

A method to prepare monolithic porous graphitic carbon with high surface area was investigated using nanosize monodispersed magnetite particles(~10 nm) as graphitization catalysts and a porogen template,and an oligomer derived from the polymerization of 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid with formaldehyde catalyzed by sodium carbonate as carbon source.The magnetite/oligomer composites were carbonized at 700-900 ℃ under a nitrogen atmosphere to generate graphitized carbon composites.Finally,monolithic porous graphitic carbon was obtained after HCl treatment to remove the iron-based particles.Results show that carbonization temperature has a great influence on the graphitization degree and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) surface area of the resultant products.The BET surface areas decreased and the graphitization degree of the products increased with carbonization temperature from 700 to 900 ℃.At a low carbonization temperature of 700 ℃,the templating effect of the magnetite particles(as porogens) can be clearly observed.Highly graphitic carbon with a high surface area can be obtained at 800 ℃.