Tailoring the porosity of a mesoporous carbon by a solvent-free mechanochemical approach

The synthesis of mesoporous carbons with well-defined and tailored pores conventionally involves the use of solvents and proceeds via multiple synthesis steps such as template synthesis and precursor infiltration. In this work, a solvent-free mechanochemical polymerization is used to derive mesoporous carbons with narrow pore size distributions and specific surface areas of up to 1660m(2) g(-1). The size of the mesopores can be tailored by simply adjusting milling parameters like the milling speed. Finally, the carbons have been applied as supercapacitors through a new approach - the 'in situ electrolyte' concept. This holistic concept does not treat the accumulating by-products of the carbon synthesis as waste, but rather utilizes them directly as electrolyte salts. With this, washing steps are circumvented and the use of any solvent becomes obsolete. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.