Wide Range Control of Pore Sizes of Hierarchical Porous Carbon by Intermolecular Force Induced Localized Assemblies of Multiple Heteroatomic Compounds

Flexible control of hierarchical porous structures of carbon is essential for achieving good performance. Special templates are normally used to form desired pore structures but the procedures and costs can be significantly increased. Herein, the formation of localized nano-assemblies, which were induced by the cascade interaction of heteroatomic small molecules, was utilized to control the pore morphology of carbon. Three heteroatomic compounds previously used as heteroatom sources were selected to illustrate the principle. Intermolecular force induced assemblies led to different pore sizes ranging from micropores (< 2 nm) to macropores (up to 500 nm) after an one-step carbonization. Co-existing of electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding was the main driving force of large assembly formation, which were modulated by adjusting the initial ratio of starting materials. The distribution and bonding of heteroatoms were also optimized with the pore formation. Performance of the prepared carbon on their specific capacitance and the capabilities in adsorption and oxidative removal of some typical contaminants was confirmed, and the proposed procedure can be a facile way for high performance porous carbon