Porous carbons were prepared from carboxymethylcellulose-sodium salt (CMC-Na) that has been treated with iodine using halide particles as a template. The dependence of the carbons' porosity on the sodium content of the initial CMC-Na and the amount of iodine introduced (I/Na molar ratio) were investigated. Both the carbonization yield and the total surface area of the obtained carbons were increased with increasing I/Na molar ratio but maximized at a ratio of about 1. The higher the sodium

more »

... nt in the raw CMC-Na, the more NaI was produced as a template in the carbons, which gave a greater porosity. Carbonization of a mixture of sodium-free CMC (CMC-H) and additional NaI powder showed that NaI increased the activation during carbonization at 600 °C. Therefore, it was suggested that NaI dispersed in the carbon matrix acts as a template as well as an efficient activator for the development of pores in carbons derived from iodine-treated CMC-Na.