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Effect of glucose loading on the synthesis mesoporous carbon had been studied using hard template method where mesoporous silica SBA-15 was used as a template. To obtain a large pore of mesoporous carbon sample, a large pore of silica template was used. A series of mesoporous carbon sample was synthesized by loading different amounts of glucose (2.5g, 5.0g and 10.0g) as a carbon precursor to ensure that the template was fully impregnated with precursor. After treatment process, the surface area of carbon samples were measured with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis and it shows that higher amount of glucose gives higher surface area due to the large pore of the template used. The samples then were tested with cyclic voltammetry technique at different scan rates (10, 20, 30 and 50 mVs-1) in 6M KOH electrolyte. It reveals that higher surface area samples show a higher specific capacitance with 119 F/g at slow scan rate 10 mVs-1.

A series of mesoporous carbon sample had been synthesized by using a modification of template silica, SBA-15. Sucrose was added into a large pore size of SBA-15 by using incipient wetness impregnation method. A proper carbonization and removal silica process had been done to produce large pore size of mesoporous carbon. Two electrode cells were prepared by coating mesoporous carbon into stainless steel mesh as a supercapacitor electrode. A few of electrolyte concentration also had been investigated by cyclic voltammetry using a various concentration of KOH in the range 1-12 M. It shows that 6M KOH gives a better performance of EDLC.

Thermochemical reactions viz. combustion and pyrolysis are important processes in the conversion of biomass from agricultural wastes into functional materials activated carbon fibre (ACF). Acid treatment during combustion and pyrolysis leaves a major impact which affects quality and properties of the resulting ACF such as pore size control and surface area enlargement. In this study, carbonisation and activation of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre into ACF was carried out using acid treatment assisted combustion and pyrolysis followed by CO2 gas flow. The effects of acid treatment on the physicochemical properties and pore characteristics was studied by applying sulphuric acid and switching the sequence of acid treatment before and after combustion and pyrolysis. Intercalation of sulphuric acid and exfoliation reactions on the acid-treated EFB fibre resulted in a higher thermal degradation rate compared to raw EFB fibre without acid treatment. Higher BET surface area and total pore volume were obtained for ACF samples treated with acid. The higher pore volume is due to the intercalated sulphuric compound which facilitated the removal of volatile matter and generated more pores for adsorption. However, severe acid oxidation could also lead to pore blocking with excess oxygen complexes and creation of limited porosity. The results show that properties of the ACF can be affected by the sequence of the acid treatment depending on the thermochemical process applied.

A series of mesoporous carbon sample was synthesized using silica template, SBA-15 with two different pore sizes. Impregnation method was applied using glucose as a precursor for converting it into carbon. An appropriate carbonization and silica removal process were carried out to produce a series of mesoporous carbon with different pore sizes and surface areas. Mesoporous carbon sample was then assembled as electrode and its performance was tested using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy to study the effect of ion transportation into several pore sizes on electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) system. 6M KOH was used as electrolyte at various scan rates of 10, 20, 30 and 50 mVs−1. The results showed that the pore size of carbon increased as the pore size of template increased and the specific capacitance improved as the increasing of the pore size of carbon.

Mesoporous TiO2 has been synthesized by the sol–gel method, using a nonionic triblock copolymer P123 as surfactant template under acidic conditions. The as-prepared samples were characterized by thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA), nitrogen absorption–desorption (BET), field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the mesoporous TiO2 was evaluated by degradation of methylene blue under high-intensity UV light irradiation; the amount of methylene blue was measured by UV–visible spectroscopy. TG–DTA analysis revealed that the surfactant had been removed partly in as-synthesized samples. BET analysis proved that all the samples retained mesoporosity with a narrow pore-size distribution (4.5–6.3 nm) and high surface area (103–200 m2/g). All calcined mesoporous TiO2 had high photocatalytic activity in the photodegradation of methylene blue.

The effect of aging temperature on the pores of SBA-15 has been studied. The products were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD) and the nitrogen adsorption- desorption isotherm measurements. It was found that increasing the hydrothermal temperature led to formation of larger pores.