Spontaneous Phase Separation Mediated Synthesis of 3D Mesoporous Carbon with Controllable Cage and Window Size

Colloidal silica templated mesoporous carbons, which have not only systematically expanded large cage size (5–45 nm) but also controlled window size (5–25 nm), are successfully obtained via spontaneous phase separation of boron species from mixture of carbon precursor, boric acid, and colloidal silica during carbonization process. This novel synthesis offers a new chance to control the pore structure in materials obtained by nano-replication using rigid templates.