Submicron mesoporous carbon spheres by ultrasonic emulsification

In this work submicron mesoporous carbon spheres with the BET surface area of 510–610 m2/g and the mesopore volume of 0.86 cm3/g can be firstly obtained from carbonization of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) submicron spheres which are prepared from water-in-oil emulsification with span80 and ultrasonic dispersion followed by freeze drying and pyrolysis. Moreover, surface texture and mesoporous properties can be obviously changed by ultrasonic emulsification. By using ultrasonic emulsification, more number and much smaller size submicron carbon spheres can be observed compared to homogenized and mechanically stirred emulsifications.