Silicone surfactant templating for mesoporous silica@carbon complex

Mesoporous silica@carbon complex (MSC) with ordered two dimensional (p6mm) arranged meso-channels were synthesized using resol precursors under the direction of commercially available silicone surfactant DOW CORNING (R) Q4-3667 FLUID (Q4-3667), which acted not only as effective template, but also as silica source. The as-made mesoporous material was prepared via hydrothermal procedure. After step-wise curing and further carbonization, the phenolic resins were converted to mesoporous carbon, and the well-arranged mesochannels were filled with nano-sized silica converted by the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) block of Q4-3667. The MSC exhibited improved electrochemical performance as lithium-ion intercalating material than its corresponding mesoporous carbon and complex with mixed silica-carbon frameworks. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.