Highly Ordered\nBimodal Mesoporous Carbon from ABC\nTriblock Terpolymers with Phenolic Resol

Mesoporous carbons (MPCs) with a bimodal distribution\nof pore diameters\nare more advantageous than their monomodal counterparts for applications\nin adsorption, catalysis, and drug delivery systems; however, reports\non their fabrication remain limited. In this study, we successfully\nfabricated bimodal MPCs using a soft template method with poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl\nmethacrylate) (PTFEMA)-<i>b</i>-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP)-<i>b</i>-polystyrene (PS) and resol. The blend samples formed microphase-separated\nstructures comprising PTFEMA spheres, PS cylinders, and matrix domains\ncomposed of P4VP and resol, leading to the separation of the PTFEMA\nand PS domains. The P4VP and resol matrix domains were carbonized\nat a high temperature of 900 °C, whereas the PTFEMA and PS domains\nwere thermally decomposed. This process resulted in bimodal MPCs with\nboth spherical and cylindrical mesopores. The pore diameters calculated\nusing scanning electron microscopy were approximately 10 and 30 nm,\nwhile nitrogen adsorption measurements indicated a large specific\nsurface area with a bimodal pore distribution.