Worm-like ordered mesoporous carbon from liquefied wood: Morphological manipulation by varying hydrothermal temperature

The hydrothermal/soft templating method is an effective way to synthesize ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC), yet the mechanism of this strategy is not well illustrated. Herein, a hydrothermal temperature-controlled approach is developed to precisely synthesize OMCs with well-defined morphologies from liquefied wood (LW). As the hydrothermal temperature increases from 130 to 210°C, the hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic blocks decreases accompanied by the increase of the relative volume of the hydrophobic block, resulting in the packing parameter p of micelles changing from p ≤ 1/3 to 1/3 < p < 1/2, which transforms the micelle's structure from spherical to cylindrical. Additionally, accelerated nucleation occurred with the increased hydrothermal temperature. When the rate of nucleation is matched to the self-assembly of the composite micelles, the composite micelles grow into worm-like morphology and an ordered p6m mesostructure. This hydrothermal temperature-controlled strategy provides a straightforward and effective approach for synthesizing OMCs with various morphologies from LW, addressing the previously insufficiently elucidated micelle formation mechanism in the hydrothermal/soft templating method.