Pore structure control of porous carbon obtained from phenol formaldehyde resin and ethylene glycol: the effect of H3BO3 on the pore structure

Abstract

Boric acid was used as a source of complexing agent to change phase separation kinetics and dynamics of the resin-glycol system to regulate the pore structure of porous carbon. The results show that the addition of H₃BO₃ in the resin mixtures can change the polymerization dynamics during curing of resin-glycol mixtures. For the complexation of H₃BO₃ to diols, the size of the ethylene glycol-rich phase produced during the curing of the resin mixture increase with the increase of the content of H₃BO₃. Similarly, the pore size of porous carbon after pyrolysis increases with the increase of H₃BO₃ content. The average pore size of resulting porous carbon can be regulated in the range from 15 to 2754 nm. These results reveal that H₃BO₃ exhibited obvious effects in changing the pore structure of resin-glycol system during pyrolysis.