Worm‐like ordered mesoporous carbon from liquefied wood: Morphological manipulation by varying hydrothermal temperature

Abstract

AbstractThe hydrothermal/soft templating method is an effective way to synthesize ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC), yet the mechanism of this strategy is not well illustrated. Herein, a hydrothermal temperature‐controlled approach is developed to precisely synthesize OMCs with well‐defined morphologies from liquefied wood (LW). As the hydrothermal temperature increases from 130 to 210°C, the hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic blocks decreases accompanied by the increase of the relative volume of the hydrophobic block, resulting in the packing parameter p of micelles changing from p ≤ 1/3 to 1/3 < p < 1/2, which transforms the micelle's structure from spherical to cylindrical. Additionally, accelerated nucleation occurred with the increased hydrothermal temperature. When the rate of nucleation is matched to the self‐assembly of the composite micelles, the composite micelles grow into worm‐like morphology and an ordered p6m mesostructure. This hydrothermal temperature‐controlled strategy provides a straightforward and effective approach for synthesizing OMCs with various morphologies from LW, addressing the previously insufficiently elucidated micelle formation mechanism in the hydrothermal/soft templating method.