A fabrication strategy for porous carbon spheres based on cross‐linked chitosan/poly(γ‐glutamic acid) colloidal particles

Abstract A new strategy was developed to prepare nanoscale porous carbon spheres (PCSs) using cross‐linked chitosan/poly(γ‐glutamic acid) colloidal particles as precursor. The fabricated cross‐linked chitosan/poly(γ‐glutamic acid) colloidal particles (Ca 2+ /CS/γ‐PGA CPs) were prepared from the self‐assembly of negatively charged poly(γ‐glutamic acid) and positively charged chitosan, and the cross‐linking of Ca 2+ in aqueous solution, via the electrostatic interaction. After lyophilization, the Ca 2+ /CS/γ‐PGA CPs power was obtained, followed by carbonization in a tube furnace under N 2 atmosphere. Finally, the products were washed by hydrochloric acid, obtaining PCSs with hierarchical pore structure and super‐hydrophobicity. The prepared PCSs exhibited excellent separation performance for oil‐in‐water emulsions.