Development of new carbon honeycomb structures from cellulose and pitch

In this paper the development of a new, low-cost method for the preparation of carbon honeycomb structures for gas adsorption applications is described. The method comprises the impregnation of a petroleum pitch into a cellulose-based corrugated paper. The resultant material has a high carbon content and retains the original structure of the paper, making it suitable for usage in gas flow applications. TEM and SAD studies on the carbonised material suggest the presence of two different types of carbon structures, a disorganised structure and a more organised one. The porosity of the samples was characterised by CO₂ and N₂ adsorption. The results indicated an appreciable narrow microporosity with a high structural stability to high temperatures (presence of the porosity at high temperatures). Finally, the molecular sieve properties of the materials were studied by CH₄ and CO₂ adsorption kinetics and compared favourably with those of a commercial carbon molecular sieve (CMS), indicating their promise for high temperature applications, such as catalyst supports or for gas separations.