Synthesis of Porous Carbon Fibers from Collagen Fiber

Animal, mineral, and/or vegetable: Ordered porous carbon fibers with hierarchical morphology (see electron microscopy images) have been prepared from collagen fiber, an abundant biomass, by treatment with metal ions and vegetable tannin or glutaraldehyde. The pore size of the carbon fibers thus obtained can be controlled by varying the metal ion, the metal-to-collagen ratio, as well as the organic reagent.