Yusuke Yamauchi, (MANA Principal Investigator, Leader of Mesoscale Materials Chemistry Group, and Professor at the University of Queensland, Australia) and his research team have established a highly productive methodology (protocol) for synthesizing homogeneous porous carbon particles by directly carbonizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) particles as starting material.

MOFs are crystalline porous materials formed by coordination bonds between metal ions and organic molecules based on self-assembly. Their large specific surface area and excellent thermal and chemical stability have led to high expectations for a wide range of applications. However, due to the presence of organic moieties in the framework, their electrical conductivity is low, making them unsuitable for electrochemical applications such as energy storage and conversion, biosensors, and capacitors.

The results of this research disclose a full synthesis protocol for the direct carbonization method of MOFs, which is expected to greatly expand the range of applications of MOFs in the future, as it enables the control of advanced morphology and pore structure.

This research was supported by the JST-ERATO Yamauchi Materials Space-Tectonics Project (National Institute for Materials Science, The University of Queensland, Australia, and Waseda University).

This research was published online in Nature Protocols on Monday, September 5, 2022.

■ Reference
“MOF-derived nanoporous carbons with exotic nanoarchitectures”
Minjun Kim, Ruijing Xin, Jacob Earnshaw, Jing Tang, Jonathan P. Hill, Aditya Ashok, Ashok Kumar Nanjundan, Jeonghun Kim, Christine Young, Yoshiyuki Sugahara, Jongbeom Na, and Yusuke Yamauchi
Journal: Nature Protocols
DOI: 10.1038/s41596-022-00718-2

■ Links
JST Press Release (Japanese)
Press Release PDF (Japanese)
JST-ERATO Yamauchi Materials Space-Tectonics Project