Issue 32, 2023

Chemistry of zipping reactions in mesoporous carbon consisting of minimally stacked graphene layers

Abstract

The structural evolution of highly mesoporous templated carbons is examined from temperatures of 1173 to 2873 K to elucidate the optimal conditions for facilitating graphene-zipping reactions whilst minimizing graphene stacking processes. Mesoporous carbons comprising a few-layer graphene wall display excellent thermal stability up to 2073 K coupled with a nanoporous structure and three-dimensional framework. Nevertheless, advanced temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy show graphene-zipping reactions occur at temperatures between 1173 and 1873 K. TPD analysis estimates zipping reactions lead to a 1100 fold increase in the average graphene-domain, affording the structure a superior chemical stability, electrochemical stability, and electrical conductivity, while increasing the bulk modulus of the framework. At above 2073 K, the carbon framework shows a loss of porosity due to the development of graphene-stacking structures. Thus, a temperature range between 1873 and 2073 K is preferable to balance the developed graphene domain size and high porosity. Utilizing a neutron pair distribution function and soft X-ray emission spectra, we prove that these highly mesoporous carbons already consist of a well-developed sp2-carbon network, and the property evolution is governed by the changes in the edge sites and stacked structures.

Graphical abstract: Chemistry of zipping reactions in mesoporous carbon consisting of minimally stacked graphene layers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
27 4 2023
Accepted
16 7 2023
First published
18 7 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 8448-8457

Chemistry of zipping reactions in mesoporous carbon consisting of minimally stacked graphene layers

T. Xia, T. Yoshii, K. Nomura, K. Wakabayashi, Z. Pan, T. Ishii, H. Tanaka, T. Mashio, J. Miyawaki, T. Otomo, K. Ikeda, Y. Sato, M. Terauchi, T. Kyotani and H. Nishihara, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 8448 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC02163G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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