Structurally tailored carbon xerogels produced through a sol–gel process in a water–methanol–inorganic salt solution

The impact of solvent composition as well as inorganic salt content and type on carbon xerogel structure was investigated. Carbon xerogels were derived from the sol–gel polycondensation of resorcinol with furfural in a water–methanol–inorganic salt solution. As inorganic salts, NaCl, NH 4 ClO 4 and FeCl 3 were used. In order to conduct an accurate examination of the carbon xerogel structures and textures, inorganic salts were removed prior to carbonization. The xerogel structures can be tailored according to the water/methanol ratio and, to a lesser extent, according to the inorganic salt content and type in the starting solution. As a result, a significant amount of salt can be introduced to the gel network of the desired structure. The morphology and physical properties of the organic xerogels, carbon xerogels and their composites were characterized by means of SEM, N 2 sorption and XRD. It was found that samples derived from mixtures with FeCl 3 manifest well developed mesoporosity and depleated microporosity in comparison to samples prepared from mixtures with NaCl and NH 4 ClO 4 . Iron ions chemically bond to the xerogel matrix and cause its partial graphitization during the carbonization process, resulting in enhanced mesoporosity.