A MICROPOROUS CARBON PRODUCED BY ARC-EVAPORATION

A carbon soot formed by arc evaporation and activated by heating under carbon dioxide is found to have a surprisingly high internal micropor e volume (> 0.25 ml g-1) and an apparent BET surface area of ca. 700 m 2 g-1, a large proportion of the pores are ca. less-than-or-equal-to 5 angstrom; transmission electron microscopy shows a highly disordered microstructure, which electron irradiation readily transforms into qua si spherical concentric nanoparticles of diameter of ca. 60 angstrom, the carbon material, which is highly absorbent to methane, shows molec ular sieving properties and is more inert to oxidation than other form s of high surface area carbon.