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TURKISH JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, vol.47, no.6, pp.1370-1379, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
A weak acidic complex ester (CE) in solid form was prepared by a condensation reaction between very weak boric acid (BA: H3BO3) and (D)-mannitol (MA: C6H14O6) by the molar ratio of BA/MA = 2. A boron carbide (B4C) precursor was obtained from heating of the CE at 400 degrees C for 4 h. The precursor was pyrolyzed under argon flow in the interval of 1300-1550 degrees C for 4 h and at 1400 degrees C for 1-4 h, respectively. The materials were examined using several techniques such as X-ray diffraction analysis, thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, particle size distribution, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The optimum pyrolysis temperature and duration were 1400 degrees C and 4 h, respectively. The most crystalline B4C particles were distributed between 1 and 100 mu m with a mean particle size of 20 mu m. The specific surface area and specific pore volume were 13.5 m2 g-1 and 0.09 cm3 g-1, respectively. The size of the pores was between 2 and 36 nm with a mean size of 14 nm.