Patent ID: 8585944

Claim:
A method for forming an ordered open-cellular carbon microstructure, the method comprising: providing an ordered open-cellular polymer template material, the polymer template material comprising an interconnected pattern of polymer waveguides; immersing the polymer template material in a reservoir containing a liquid monomer solution; swelling the polymer template material with the liquid monomer solution; removing the polymer template material from the reservoir containing the liquid monomer solution; removing excess liquid monomer solution from the polymer template material; polymerizing the liquid monomer solution diffused into the polymer template material to form an ordered open-cellular polymer material; and heating the ordered open-cellular polymer material in an inert atmosphere to carbonize the ordered open-cellular polymer material to result in the ordered open-cellular carbon microstructure, wherein the interconnected pattern of polymer waveguides comprises: a plurality of first truss elements extending along a first direction; a plurality of second truss elements extending along a second direction; and a plurality of third truss elements extending along a third direction, wherein the first, second, and third truss elements interpenetrate each other at a plurality of nodes to form a continuous material.