Electrosynthesis of Ti₃AlC₂-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, Ti₃AlC₂-derived porous carbon (Ti₃AlC₂-CDC) was electrochemically synthesized at 900°C and 3.0 V in molten CaCl₂-NaCl. The obtained Ti₃AlC₂-CDC with abundant slit-like mesopores showed a high specific surface area of 425 m²/g. The variation of the morphology from the Ti₃AlC₂ precursor to Ti₃AlC₂-CDC was investigated, with the Ti₃AlC₂-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 Ti₃AlC₂ can be oxidized by residual O²⁻ in the molten salt to form tiny Al₂O₃ particles on the anodic Ti₃AlC₂ surface during the etching process, then Ti₃AlC₂-CDC can be obtained by successively removing these Al₂O₃, Al, and Ti from the Ti₃AlC₂ precursor.