Aerosol-Enabled One-Step Synthesis of ZIF-Derived Porous Carbon Spheres

MOHAIMINUL CHOWDHURY, Wei-Ning Wang, Virginia Commonwealth University

     Abstract Number: 224
     Working Group: Nanoparticles and Materials Synthesis

Abstract
We report a novel, scalable, one-step synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF)-derived porous carbon spheres via an aerosol-assisted route. We conducted systematic experiments to address two key issues in aerosol-based ZIF synthesis, i.e., rapid solvent evaporation and the delayed deprotonation of organic linkers. This precursor optimization enables homogeneous nucleation and formation of ZIFs inside microdroplet reactors, thereby facilitating the in-flight carbonization of the ZIF structures. The effect of synthesis temperature on the surface area, pore architecture, and morphology of the resulting carbon spheres was systematically investigated. Structural and chemical analyses, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDAX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nitrogen sorption, verified the successful formation of mesoporous carbon. The features of the as-synthesized ZIF and the derived porous carbon were also compared with those of the conventionally synthesized ones. This work offers a facile and continuous approach that addresses limitations of batch processes, offering a promising route for the scalable production of ZIF-derived porous carbons for applications in energy storage, catalysis, and environmental remediation.