Patent ID: 7842736

Claim:
A method of making mesoporous carbon, the method comprising: (a) providing a nucleophilic component which comprises a phenolic compound or a phenol condensation prepolymer optionally with one or more modifying reagents selected from hydroquinone, resorcinol, urea, aromatic amines and heteroaromatic amines; (b) dissolving the nucleophilic component in a pore former selected from the group consisting of a diol, a diol ether, a cyclic ester, a substituted cyclic ester, a substituted linear amide, a substituted cyclic amide, an amino alcohol and a mixture of any of the above with water, together with at least one electrophilic cross-linking agent selected from the group consisting of formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, furfural and hexamethylene tetramine; (c) condensing the nucleophilic component and the electrophilic cross-linking agent in the presence of the pore former to form a porous resin; (d) comminuting the porous resin; and (e) carbonising the comminuted porous resin to form mesoporous carbon by treatment in an inert atmosphere at 600° C. to 800° C. with a heating rate up to 10° C. per minute of treatment time.