Fabrication of large-surface-area graphitized carbons by potassium hydroxide-promoted catalytic graphitization.

Molten potassium hydroxide disperses catalyst particles and isolates nascent graphene sheets during catalytic graphitization process. [Display omitted] • KOH-catalyst joint treatment allows fabricating highly porous well-graphitized carbons. • Molten KOH promotes catalytic graphitization by dispersing metal catalysts. • Molten KOH prevents intensive graphene stacking by isolating neighboring sheets. • Thin graphitized flakes construct mesoporous structures. Porous graphitized carbons (PGCs), with the texture mimicking activated carbons while the framework resembling few-layer graphene, promise intriguing opportunities in versatile applications. Nonetheless, shortage of facile strategies to achieve high graphitization levels without compromising porosity remains a bottleneck. We demonstrate that various carbon precursors, including activated carbon, biomass, biochar, anthracite and synthetic polymer, can be converted to large-surface-area PGCs by joint treatment using both potassium hydroxide and a catalyst. In particular, using activated carbon as the precursor, BET surface areas exceeding 2000 m2/g can be readily achieved. Besides, joint treatment introduces mesoporosities to the products. We propose that molten potassium hydroxide can promote metal-catalyzed graphitization of carbon precursors, while preventing intensive graphene sheet stacking, forming thin graphitized flakes that construct highly porous structures. The PGCs can be used as moisture-resistant VOC adsorbents owing to their excellent hydrophobicity. The joint-treatment process can realize a scale-up fabrication of high-quality PGCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]