Structural prediction of graphitization and porosity in carbide-derived carbons

Carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) are nanoporous carbons with a tunable pore size, making them desirable for their adsorption properties. Despite their applicability, reliable structural models are difficult to construct due to the interplay between strong short-range order and long-range disorder. Her...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: de Tomas, C., Suarez-Martinez, Irene, Vallejos-Burgos, F., López, M., Kaneko, K., Marks, N.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2017
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150103487
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/53541
Description
Summary:Carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) are nanoporous carbons with a tunable pore size, making them desirable for their adsorption properties. Despite their applicability, reliable structural models are difficult to construct due to the interplay between strong short-range order and long-range disorder. Here, a mimetic methodology is developed to generate atomistic models of CDCs using Molecular Dynamics and the Environment Dependent Interaction Potential. This approach reproduces the main characteristics of experimentally-prepared CDCs, including microstructure, porosity at the nanometre scale, and graphitization with increasing temperature. An Arrhenius-based approach is used to bridge the timescale gap between Molecular Dynamics and experiment and build a connection between the simulation and synthesis temperatures. The method is robust, easy to implement, and enables a fast exploration of the adsorption properties of CDCs.