Electrosynthesis of Ti 3 AlC 2 -Derived Porous Carbon in Molten Salt

Carbide-derived carbon (CDC) as an unconventional porous carbon material has been widely used for various applications. In this work, Ti 3 AlC 2 -derived porous carbon (Ti 3 AlC 2 -CDC) was electrochemically synthesized at 900°C and 3.0 V in molten CaCl 2 -NaCl. The obtained Ti 3 AlC 2 -CDC with abundant slit-like mesopores showed a high specific surface area of 425 m 2 /g. The variation of the morphology from the Ti 3 AlC 2 precursor to Ti 3 AlC 2 -CDC was investigated, with the Ti 3 AlC 2 -CDC demonstrating a typical loose layered morphology and amorphous carbon structure. The intermediate products were also systematically analyzed to investigate the molten salt electrochemical etching process. It was found that Ti 3 AlC 2 can be oxidized by residual O 2− in the molten salt to form tiny Al 2 O 3 particles on the anodic Ti 3 AlC 2 surface during the etching process, then Ti 3 AlC 2 -CDC can be obtained by successively removing these Al 2 O 3 , Al, and Ti from the Ti 3 AlC 2 precursor.