Flexible Coral-like Carbon Nanoarchitectures via a Dual Block Copolymer–Latex Templating Approach

Novel, hierarchical, micro- (<2 nm), meso-/small macro- (50–60 nm), and large macro- (2–5 μm) trimodal porous functional carbon monoliths with flexible pore widths and wall textures are fabricated hydrothermally via a one-pot, dual block copolymer–latex templating approach. The trimodal carbon monoliths exhibit a coral-like nanoarchitecture, consisting of a 3D continuous carbon branch network, in which an inverse opal-type nanostructure with ordered pore wall texture is embedded, possessing high surface area (e.g., >800 m 2 g –1 ), large pore volume, and highly layered porosities. The coadded block copolymer plays a triple role in the formation of the porous nanoarchitectures during hydrothermal synthesis: (1) in the formation of inverse opal pores by latex destabilization, (2) in the formation of an ordered microporous carbon wall texture by soft templating effect, and (3) in the formation of a micrometer-sized 3D continuous void by controlling the degree of spinodal phase separation. All the above nanostructuring chemistries are controllable via a simple variation in hydrothermal treatment temperature and reagent/template ratios offering nanostructural flexibility at multiple length scales, while the mild synthesis temperatures provide useful surface functionalities. The resulting materials are promising candidates for applications including (bio)electrochemistry (e.g., biofuel cells) or as biological scaffolds or separation media.