Mesoporous carbons with graphitic structures fabricated by using porous silica materials as templates and iron-impregnated polypyrrole as precursor

Templated mesoporous carbons containing graphitic structures and a well-developed porosity were synthesised by using mesoporous silica materials (i.e. SBA-15 and silica xerogel) as templates and polypyrrole as carbon precursor. The polypyrrole was synthesised by in situ polymerization of pyrrole which was infiltrated into the silica pores containing FeCl3. The carbonization of polypyrrole in presence of iron allows carbon structures with some degree of graphitic order to be formed. The samples were characterised by XRD, nitrogen sorption, TEM, Raman and elemental analysis. The results show that the templated carbons have BET surface areas >1000 m2 g−1 and a porosity built up by two pore systems with sizes centred at ∼3–4 nm and at 10–14 nm. In addition, they have a good electrical conductivity due to the presence of graphitic structures in the carbon framework.