Abstract
This study presents a new route for the synthesis of carbon gels with a structure that includes aligned fibers of the same material. A modification of the heating process during polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde produces a combination of the classical polymeric nodules in carbon gels with arrays of totally aligned fibers. This new morphology, produced through a very simple process, opens up new application possibilities to the already numerous existing ones for carbon gels.

Highlights
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Combination of polymeric nodules and aligned fibers are produced by one-pot sol-gel process.
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Formation of fiber arrays is favoured at late polymerization point under acid catalysis.
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The fiber arrays lead to materials with very good combination of porosity and surface area.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (CTQ2017-87820-R) and the Principality of Asturias–FICYT-FEDER(IDI/2018/000118) for their financial support. SFL is grateful for her research training grant received from the Administración del Principado de Asturias through the “Severo Ochoa” program.
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Flores-López, S.L., Villanueva, S.F., Montes-Morán, M.A. et al. Synthesis of carbon fibers arrays by the sol-gel process. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-021-05493-2
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Keywords
- Carbon
- Aerogel
- Fibers
- Microwave
- Macroporosity