Decomposition synthesis of tuneable, macroporous carbon foams from crystalline precursors via in situ templating

A flexible, sustainable, one-step thermal decomposition route for the synthesis of hierarchical, heteroatom doped carbon foams is presented. Task-specific semi-organic crystals combine functions for three different purposes: the carbon and heteroatom source, a foaming agent (CO₂) and an in situ generable template (NaCl). Insights to the decomposition pathway were gained through FTIR/MS coupled TGA and an ultrafast out-of-furnace heating procedure and the products were analysed with (HR)SEM/TEM, EELS, FTIR, and N₂ sorption. The resulting macroporous carbon foams are excellent supports for metallic nanoparticles due to their hierarchical structure, high surface area and tuneable heteroatom contents. This was demonstrated for catalytically active copper or the magnetic CoNi alloy for water purification.