Fabrication of nanoporous silicon oxycarbide materials using layered double-hydroxide as a sacrificial template

We report on fabrication of highly porous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) material, SixOyCz. The material possesses high surface area, a hierarchical pore size distribution, and an ordered layered structure. We synthesized it using tri-isopropylsilane as a precursor, a layered double-hydroxide as a sacrificial template, and chemical vapor deposition at temperatures 700 degrees C and 800 degrees C. Several techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission and scanning electron microscopies, were used to characterize the morphology of the material, and is shown to be composed of hollow spheres with a layered interior. Nitrogen sorption validates the hierarchical structure of the material with both meso- and micropores. The material exhibits high BET surface area, ranging from 330 m(2)/g to 540 m(2)/g, and a total pore volume from 0.50 cm(3)/g to 0.91 cm(3)/g. It was fabricated using low-cost templates and precursors, as well as convenient synthesis procedures, and is a promising material for several applications, such as catalyst support, sorbents, and battery anodes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.