The mesoporous carbon particles were prepared by spray drying of solutions containing resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) as carbon precursors and surfactant triblock copolymer (Pluronic F127) as porous template by using HCl, Na₂CO₃ and NaOH as catalyst. The spray dried particles were carbonized at 800℃ in an inert atmosphere to obtain structured carbon materials. When using HCl as a catalyst, we found that at the inlet temperature for spray drier at 180℃, mesoporous carbon particles exhibited high surface area and narrow pore size distribution than that the inlet temperature for spray drier at 160℃ but the particles was agglomerated. When using Na₂CO₃ and NaOH as a catalyst, the particles were microporous and non porous carbon. The effect of pH of RF solution before spray drying on the pore texture and the specific surface area of the carbon after pyrolysis as well as the morphology of the particle was studied. Results show that it is possible to tailor the morphology of these materials by varying the initial pH of the precursors solution. When using HCl mixed with NaOH as a catalyst at low pH of less than 2.41, the obtained carbon had specific surface areas and pore size higher than at higher pH range, which is consistent with the FTIR signals ratio of methylene and methylene ether bridge.
