Facile preparation of porous carbon nanospheres via hydrothermal method using chlorinated polypropylene as precursor

A facile approach to prepare carbon nanomaterials with the spherically shaped morphology and high BET surface area via the hydrothermal treatment combining high temperature carbonization using chlorinated polypropylene as precursor was reported in this work. The polymer nanospheres (PNSs) were firstly prepared by nanoprecipitation, and the effects of concentration, temperature and pH value on the size and size distribution of the PNSs were studied. The results showed that the particle size can be controlled by adjusting the experimental conditions, and PNSs with average diameters of about 100 nm were finally obtained. Then the obtained PNSs were transformed into carbon nanospheres (CNSs) by hydrothermal treatment combining carbonization, and the carbonization at different temperatures was investigated. Results showed that the hydrothermal treatment was essential to firm the spherical shapes of the products, and the high temperature carbonization enabled the products with high carbon contents. As a result, CNSs with good conductivity and porous structures were obtained. The electrical resistivity value of the as-prepared CNSs can be down to 75.08 mΩ•cm because of the formation of graphite structures, and the BET surface area of CNS-800 is up to 1249 m2/g with the narrow-distributed mesoporous structures of about 4 nm and the pore volume of 0.91cm3/g.