Synthesis and textural characteristics of organic aerogels, transition-metal-containing organic aerogels and their carbonized derivatives

Four organic aerogels were prepared by the sol-gel method from polymerizati on of resorcinol with formaldehyde catalyzed by Na2CO3. These aerogels were further pyrolyzed in N-2 in order to obtain their corresponding carbon aer ogels, and after that activated with either steam or CO2 to obtain activate d carbon aerogels. Another series of organic aerogels and their pyrolyzed a nd activated derivatives were prepared without a catalyst or in the presenc e of Ag, Pd or Pt. All these samples were texturally characterized, which h as shown the porous modifications undergone by the aerogels during the pyro lysis and activation processes. The textural characteristics of the transit ion-metal-containing activated carbon aerogels depend on the nature of the metal. Thus, whereas the sample containing Pt, in a very small amount, had the largest meso and macropore volume (0.822 and 2.982 cm(3) g(-1)) found, those containing either Pd or Ag were essentially microporous. (C) 1999 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.