Soft-templating techniques have greatly facilitated access to (ordered) mesoporous carbon materials. A key strength of these approaches is that the resulting material can be shaped by a multitude of parameters – rendering soft-templating inherently versatile regarding features such as pore arrangement or pore sizes. Nonetheless, rational manipulation of pore sizes/diameters, let alone a systematic variation thereof, remains a formidable challenge with high relevance for research fields as diverse as catalysis, sensing or energy storage and conversion. Thus, this Short Review aims to provide a structured account of the most frequently employed strategies to impact mesopore diameters in carbon materials derived via soft-templating.
Table of content:
1. Introduction
2. Carbonization Temperature
3. Stoichiometry
4. Swelling Agents
5. Design of Polymeric SDAs/Templates
6. Conclusion
Combined soft templating with thermal exfoliation toward synthesis of porous g-C3N4 nanosheets for improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution