Metal- and Oxide-Containing Carbons Made From Graphite Oxide

Carbon-based materials containing, variously, metals and metal oxides can be synthesized according to a method that involves reactions of metal chlorides with materials of general composition COx. In a typical material synthesized by the present method, the carbon is porous and serves as a substrate for the metal or metal oxide. Depending on the application, the metal or metal oxide could serve, for example, as a catalyst or as an electrode material in a gas sensor or electrochemical power cell. Alternatively, instead of serving as a substrate, the carbon could serve as a template for formation of a porous metal oxide (ceramic), from which the carbon is eventually removed.