Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous carbon spheres

A three-step method was used for the synthesis of mesoporous carbon sphere (MCS) material: firstly, silica (SiO₂) nanoparticles were synthesized by the modified Stöber procedure; secondly, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) were grafted onto SiO₂ core nanoparticles to prepare SiO₂@SiO₂-CTAC hard templates; lastly, MCS material was fabricated by carbonizing and selective leaching SiO₂/resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) composites. The influence of the mass ratio of R-F/silica on the structure, morphology and crystal form was studied. The results indicate that the MCS materials have a uniform morphology. The increase of the mass ratio of R-F/silica can increase the specific surface area and pore volume. The three-step method provides a cost-effective procedure for the fabrication of MCS materials with uniform morphology.