Nitrogen-containing mesoporous carbons prepared from melamine formaldehyde resins with CaCl2 as a template

Melamine formaldehyde resins were synthesized with encapsulated CaCl2 as a template. Carbonization at high temperatures led to the formation of carbon materials containing N atoms. Washing with de-ionized water removed encapsulated CaCl2, resulting in the formation of mesopores (3-30 nm) with the high surface areas (770-1300 m(2)/g). The template can be recycled and the method is simple and cost effective as compared to the hard template techniques. The mesoporous carbons containing nitrogen (NMC) thus prepared exhibited the amphipathic surfaces (both hydrophilic and lipophilic) and adsorbed great amount of water and benzene. In addition, the incorporated N atoms exhibited quite strong basicity for the adsorption of great amount of SO2. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.