Hierarchical porous Cu with high surface area and fluid permeability

Abstract

Surface area and fluid permeability are two key properties of porous metals in many applications. However, it is extremely difficult to achieve both high surface area and fluid permeability in conventional porous metals. In this work, we developed a synergetic manufacturing process by combining space holder and dealloying methods and produced bulk hierarchical porous Cu samples containing micro-pores and nano-pores. The hierarchical porous Cu possesses high electroactive, real and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas of 0.11, 7.02 and 10.62 m2/g, respectively, a high permeability of 9.5 × 10−10 m2 and a low form drag coefficient of 400 m−1.