Mesoporous carbons with self-assembled surfaces of defined crystal orientation.

The design of carbon sorbents traditionally focuses on the control of pore structure and the number and type of surface functional groups. The present paper explores the potential of also controlling the carbon crystal structure, or graphene layer orientation, in the immediate vicinity of the internal surfaces. We hypothesize that this crystal structure influences the properties of the carbon surfaces and affects the number and type of active sites for functionalization.