MOF-808-derived carbon granules with a bimodal micro-mesoporous structure

Porous carbons can be prepared from crystalline metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by pyrolysis. However, MOF-derived porous carbons (denoted as MPCs) are mostly composed of microporosity, potentially causing diffusional limitation during guest transport. To overcome the potential diffusional limitation of MPCs due to pore size constraints, secondary meso- or macropores need to be introduced in the MPCs. Our strategy is to granulize MOF-808 nanoparticles via spray drying, followed by pyrolysis and HF etching, yielding MPC granules with a bimodal micro-mesoporous structure, in which the micropores originate from intrinsic pores of MOF-808 and the mesopores stem from interparticle spaces between assembled MOF-808 particles. Graphical abstract