Novel nitrogen-containing mesoporous carbons prepared from chitosan

In this study, synthesis of novel nitrogen-containing mesoporous carbons with the use of both colloidal silica as a template and chitosan as a new promising carbon precursor was performed. The prepared materials were characterized by adsorption of nitrogen, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The use of the silica template makes it possible to achieve products of the pore volume as high as 4.31 cm3 g−1, with only insignificant contribution of microporosity. The present method enables the synthesis of nitrogen-containing carbons in a simple manner, using an inexpensive and readily available biopolymer.