Porous carbons

Carbon in dense as well as porous solid form is used in a variety of applications. Activated porous carbons are made through pyrolysis and activation of carbonaceous natural as well as synthetic precursors. Pyrolysed woods replicate the structure of original wood but as such possess very low surface areas and poor adsorption capacities. On activation, these exhibit increased adsorption volumes of 0.5-0.8 cm³/gm and surface areas of 700–1800 m²/gm depending on activation conditions, whether physical or chemical. Former carbons possess mixed pore size distribution while chemically activated carbons predominantly possess micropores. Thus, these carbons can be used for adsorption of wide distributions of molecules from gas to liquid. The molecular adsorption within the pores is due to single layer or multilayer molecule deposition at the pore walls and hence results in different types of adsorption isotherm. On the other hand, activated carbon fibres with controlled microporous structure and surface area in the range of 2500 m²/gm can be developed by controlled pyrolysis and physical activation of amorphous carbon fibres. Active carbon fibres with unmatchable pore structure and surface characteristics are present and futuristic porous materials for a number of applications from pollution control to energy storage.