Open AccessActivated Carbon in the Third Dimension—3D Printing of a Tuned Porous Carbon
Author(s) -
Steldinger Hendryk,
Esposito Alessandro,
Brunnengräber Kai,
Gläsel Jan,
Etzold Bastian J. M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201901340
Subject(s) - materials science , stereolithography , pentaerythritol , chemical engineering , carbon fibers , porosity , polymer , 3d printing , copolymer , adsorption , nanotechnology , template , divinylbenzene , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , fire retardant , composite number , engineering , styrene
Abstract A method for obtaining hierarchically structured porous carbons, employing 3D printing to control the structure down to the lower µm scale, is presented. To successfully 3D print a polymer precursor and transfer it to a highly stable and structurally conformal carbon material, stereolithography 3D printing and photoinduced copolymerization of pentaerythritol tetraacrylate and divinylbenzene are employed. Mechanically stable structures result and a resolution of ≈15 µm is demonstrated. This approach can be combined with liquid porogen templating to control the amount and size (up to ≈100 nm) of transport pores in the final carbonaceous material. Additional CO 2 activation enables high surface area materials (up to 2200 m 2 g ‐1 ) that show the 3D printing controlled µm structure and nm sized transport pores. This unique flexibility holds promise for the identification of optimal carbonaceous structures for energy application, catalysis, and adsorption.