Scalable Synthesis of Uniform Nanosized Microporous Carbon Particles from Rigid Polymers for Rapid Ion and Molecule Adsorption

Porous carbon materials are of great importance for many applications such as energy storage, catalysis, and adsorption. Rational design and low-cost synthesis of carbon structures that can simultaneously offer high surface area and rapid ion/molecule transport properties remain desired for target functions. Here, we report a cost-effective and scalable synthesis of high surface area, size-uniform microporous carbon nanoparticles. A combination of using rigid polymer nanoparticles as the precursor, precarbonization, and activation process leads to carbon nanoparticles with a high surface area (up to 2789 m2 g–1), a large pore volume (up to 1.85 cm3 g–1), and a high packing density (0.5 g cm–3), which is due to the existence of a large amount of highly accessible micropores. Such a unique carbon structure exhibits not only large capacity but also rapid adsorption for both ions and small molecules, demonstrated in high-performance supercapacitors and as an efficient sorbent for removal of pollutants from water. This study provides a new strategy that can be used to further design and tune nanostructured carbon and composite particles to explore many other applications.