Surfactant Assembly within Pickering Emulsion Droplets for Fabrication of Interior‐Structured Mesoporous Carbon Microspheres |
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| Authors: | Dawei Liu Nan Xue Lijuan Wei Dr. Ye Zhang Prof. Zhangfeng Qin Prof. Xuekuan Li Prof. Bernard P. Binks Prof. Hengquan Yang |
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| Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan, China;2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China;3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;4. School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK |
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| Abstract: | Large‐sized carbon spheres with controllable interior architecture are highly desired, but there is no method to synthesize these materials. Here, we develop a novel method to synthesize interior‐structured mesoporous carbon microspheres (MCMs), based on the surfactant assembly within water droplet‐confined spaces. Our approach is shown to access a library of unprecedented MCMs such as hollow MCMs, multi‐chambered MCMs, bijel‐structured MCMs, multi‐cored MCMs, “solid” MCMs, and honeycombed MCMs. These novel structures, unattainable for the conventional bulk synthesis even at the same conditions, suggest an intriguing effect arising from the droplet‐confined spaces. This synthesis method and the hitherto unfound impact of the droplet‐confined spaces on the microstructural evolution open up new horizons in exploring novel materials for innovative applications. |
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| Keywords: | carbon microspheres confinement effects mesoporous materials Pickering emulsions surfactant assemblies |
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