Disclosing the Effect of Activation on the Micro- and Meso-structure of Activated Carbons with SANS and Gas Sorption
10 affiliations
- 1IFP Energies nouvelles, Rond-Point de l’Echangeur de Solaize, BP3, Solaize, France, 63960
- 2Department of Chemistry, INSTM and NIS Centre, University of Torino, via Quarello 15A, Torino, Italy, I-10135
- 3Université de Caen Normandie, ENSICAEN, CNRS, LCS, Laboratoire Catalyse et Spectrochimie
- 4ESRF - The European Synchrotron, 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble, France, 38000
- 5Paul Scherrer Institute, PSI Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences
- 6Catalyst Division
- 7Chimet SpA
- 8Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), 71 avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble, France, 38000
- 9Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR12 CEA-CNRS
- 10Laboratoire Rhéologie et Procédés, UMR5520 CNRS-UGA
Abstract
Tuning the performance of a porous material is a major leap towards more efficient use and reduced production costs. The performance of activated carbons (ACs) in applications such as catalysis, energy storage, and environmental remediation is closely linked to their micro- and meso-structure, side to their surface chemistry. However, their intrinsic disorder and large panel of possible synthetic treatments bring to a complex structure that standard analysis technique only are not capable to depict entirely. To access a complete understanding of such a complex pore architecture, we coupled standard gas physisorption (N 2 at 77 K, Ar at 87 K and CO 2 at 273 K), with Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) to investigate five ACs obtained from different precursors and activation methods. By integrating gas physisorption and SANS, we obtain a coherent picture of the pore architecture and its dependence on activation strategy, revealing that the activation method governs pore structure more than the precursor type. SANS further reveals structural details beyond the reach of Ar adsorption alone by reconciling the competing models of non-graphitic carbon microstructures (i.e. curved vs flat carbon platelets) – suggesting that the balance in between models contribution depends on the activation strategy. Contrast matching with D 2 O further reveals that water actively modifies the carbon framework, compressing and curving defective layers. These results – relying on previous knowledge of the surface chemistry of the very same samples – provide a multi-scale understanding of structure and properties of ACs, clarifying how activation shapes microstructure, porosity and surface chemistry, with direct implications for their performance in real-world applications.
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BibTeX
@misc{ricchebuono2026disclosing,
title = {{Disclosing the Effect of Activation on the Micro- and Meso-structure of Activated Carbons with SANS and Gas Sorption}},
author = {Alberto Ricchebuono and Eleonora Vottero and Paolo Lazzarini and Daniele Bonavia and Riccardo Pellegrini and Valentina Crocellà and Stefano Checchia and Viviana Cristiglio and Nicolas Martin and Ralf Schweins and Elena Groppo and Andrea Piovano},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010821/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010821/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Disclosing the Effect of Activation on the Micro- and Meso-structure of Activated Carbons with SANS and Gas Sorption
AU - Alberto Ricchebuono
AU - Eleonora Vottero
AU - Paolo Lazzarini
AU - Daniele Bonavia
AU - Riccardo Pellegrini
AU - Valentina Crocellà
AU - Stefano Checchia
AU - Viviana Cristiglio
AU - Nicolas Martin
AU - Ralf Schweins
AU - Elena Groppo
AU - Andrea Piovano
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010821/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010821/v1
AB - Tuning the performance of a porous material is a major leap towards more efficient use and reduced production costs. The performance of activated carbons (ACs) in applications such as catalysis, energy storage, and environmental remediation is closely linked to their micro- and meso-structure, side to their surface chemistry. However, their intrinsic disorder and large panel of possible synthetic treatments bring to a complex structure that standard analysis technique only are not capable to depict entirely. To access a complete understanding of such a complex pore architecture, we coupled standard gas physisorption (N 2 at 77 K, Ar at 87 K and CO 2 at 273 K), with Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) to investigate five ACs obtained from different precursors and activation methods. By integrating gas physisorption and SANS, we obtain a coherent picture of the pore architecture and its dependence on activation strategy, revealing that the activation method governs pore structure more than the precursor type. SANS further reveals structural details beyond the reach of Ar adsorption alone by reconciling the competing models of non-graphitic carbon microstructures (i.e. curved vs flat carbon platelets) – suggesting that the balance in between models contribution depends on the activation strategy. Contrast matching with D 2 O further reveals that water actively modifies the carbon framework, compressing and curving defective layers. These results – relying on previous knowledge of the surface chemistry of the very same samples – provide a multi-scale understanding of structure and properties of ACs, clarifying how activation shapes microstructure, porosity and surface chemistry, with direct implications for their performance in real-world applications.
ER -