Synthesis and characterisation of porous carbide-derived carbon from SiC in Molten Salt

Introduction: The nanoporous carbide-derived carbon (CDC) have been prepared by electrochemical etching of SiC in molten CaCl2 at 900 ºC for 15 h in argon at an applied constant voltage of 3.0 V. SiC powder was pressed to form a pellet which was then served as the anode, and a graphite rod was used as the cathode Method: The results show that the obtained SiC-CDC is a mixture of amorphous carbon and ordered graphite phase with a highly degree of graphitization. The Raman analysis confirms that the ID/IG ratio of the CDC nanosheets is 0.46, indicating a lower degree of graphitization. Result: The layered CDC nanosheets possess a specific surface area of 561.39 m2/g and a total pore volume of 0.39 cm3/g with an average pore diameter of 2.8 nm. Conclusion: It is suggested that the molten salt electrochemical etching process is a novel method for the production of porous carbon material, and has the penitential to be used for a variety of applications.