Size control and characterization of spherical carbon aerogel particles from resorcinol-formaldehyde resin

Spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aerogel particles were synthesized by emulsion polymerization of resorcinol with formaldehyde in a slightly basic aqueous solution, followed by supercritical drying with carbon dioxide. RF carbon aerogel particles were prepared by carbonizing of the RF aerogel particles at a high temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere. By changing the viscosity of the RF sol added to the cyclohexane containing a surface-active agent for preparation of the spherical RF hydrogels, we investigated the influence of the apparent viscosity of the RF sol on the size of the generated RF carbon aerogel particles. We could successfully prepare the RF carbon aerogel particles with a truly spherical shape and control their size in the range from about 10 to 500 μm by changing the apparent viscosity of the RF sol. The spherical RF carbon aerogel particles with an average diameter of 20 μm have a BET surface area of about 800 m²/g and a uniform mesopore radius of 1.78 nm.