James Watson Neely

Characterization of polymer carbons derived from porous sulfonated polystyrene

Abstract The chemical and physical properties of carbonaceous adsorbents produced from macroreticular sulfonated styrene/divinylbenzene copolymers have been studied over the temperature range 300–1200°C. The beads char upon heating but retain the macroporous structure of the original coplymer. Chemical structures are presented which are consistent with chemical analysis of the solid and the volatiles. Microporosity is created during heat treatment. As the temperature rises the volume of micropores increases and the effective size of the micropores decreases. The micropore volume increases linearly as the skeletal volume decreases with half the volume lost by the skeleton creating new micropores and the other half appearing as shrinkage of the bead.