Porous Carbon

This chapter deals with two main issues: the development of methodologies for the precise control of pore structures of carbons, and the development of novel utilization areas for the porous carbons. The porous carbons are characterized by their highly developed surface areas and porosities. The development of the micro- and meso-pores is of importance because only such pores allow carbons to adsorb large quantities of chemicals from gas and liquid phases. For pore development, these carbons are activated, usually by gasification with an oxidizing gas or by reaction with a suitable chemical reagent. Efforts to control the structure in carbons are particularly relevant to the molecular sieving carbons (MSC). The porosity of the MSC consists of uniform pores of nanometre size. Such unique pore structures of MSC separate molecules in terms of either size or shape. There are two main methods to prepare the MSC: synthesis by the pyrolysis of a suitable carbon precursor, and the modification of the existing porosity of a suitable porous carbon.