Synthesis, growth mechanism, and electrochemical properties of hollow mesoporous carbon spheres with controlled diameter

Hollow mesoporous carbon spheres with controllable diameters have been fabricated from core-shell structured mesoporous silica sphere templates using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). By controlling the thickness of the silica shell, hollow carbon spheres with different diameters are obtained. The use of ethylene as the carbon precursor produces mesoporous graphitic hollow carbon spheres. The hollow carbon spheres have a relatively large degree of graphitization together with good meso-structural order and high specific surface area of 771 m²/g. The mechanism governing the formation of the hollow spheres is studied, and the importance of the surfactant (CTAB) is also clarified. CTAB accelerates the carbon deposition process, thus improving the product yield. These hollow carbon spheres that have good electrochemical properties are suitable for lithium ion batteries. © 2011 American Chemical Society.