PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF CARBON-CONTAINING MATERIAL, MATERIAL OBTAINABLE THEREBY AND USES THEREOF

摘要

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of carbon- containing material. Owing to the similarity to gels known from conventional sol-gel silicate chemistry, the materials can be denoted as "Carbogels". The process involves the step of heating a reaction mixture comprising an aqueous liquid and, dissolved therein, carbohydrate and a boron compound. The boron compound is selected from boric acid, derivatives thereof and salts thereof. Through the preparation process of the invention, solvogels, such as hydrogels and ionogels, can be obtained in a simple one- step hydrothermal procedure. By removing the liquid from the solvogel, carbon-based aerogels can be obtained. The invention is also concerned with the Carbogels obtainable by the preparation process as such, as well as their uses, for instance in catalysis, electrochemical applications, soil applications, sorption and chromatography.