Facile Preparation of Carbon Aerogels with Different Drying Methods

Abstract

Carbon aerogels were prepared through a polycondensation of phloroglucinol, resorcinol and formaldehyde with sodium carbonate as the catalyst under different drying methods. The drying methods were room temperature drying, vacuum drying and freeze drying. The effects of different drying methods on the porous structure of carbon aerogels were studied systematically. The texture and pore structure were investigated under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a surface-area analyzer. The results show that the freeze-drying method was good for the specific surface area of carbon aerogels, up to 843 m2 g-1.