Improving porous properties of activated carbon from carbon gel by the OTA method.

High-surface-area microporous-mesoporous carbons were produced from carbon gel by applying the three consecutive steps of air oxidation, thermal treatment, and activation (the OTA method) to the gel. The formation of mesopores occurs both inside and outside the nanoparticles which form the carbon gel, while micropores are predominantly created within the nanoparticles. The OTA method offered a greater increase in pore volume and BET surface area of the resulting activated carbon in comparison with conventional CO activation either under the same activation conditions or at the same degree of carbon burn-off.