Researchers develop 'one-pot' porous surfaces for fuel cells

In the CASH (combined assembly by soft and hard chemistries) process, a polymer forms itself into ordered rows of cylinders surrounded by a metal oxide. Heating in the absence of oxygen turns the polymer into a hard carbon framework that holds its shape while the metal oxide is heated to a higher temperature to make it form uniform crystals. Finally, heating in air burns off the carbon to leave a porous material. Credit: Ulrich Wiesner