Activated carbon derived from wood is porous carbon. It does not have a definite crystal structure. Graphite has a specific crystal structure of parallel graphene layers connected by intermolecular bonds.
The main difference between the two is the structure of the carbon. Nanoporous carbon has a porous structure, while nanographitic carbon has a graphitic structure. The main way to identify them is by using characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption (BET) measurements. SEM and TEM can reveal the morphology and structure of the carbon material, while XRD can reveal the crystal structure, and BET can reveal the surface area and pore size. Additionally, Raman spectroscopy can also be used as a powerful tool to distinguish the different forms of carbon materials by comparing the intensity ratio of the D- and G-bands, which reflects the degree of disorder in the carbon material.
Nanoporous carbon and nanographitic carbon are both forms of carbon that have been engineered to have small pore sizes, in the nanometer range. The main difference between the two is the structure of the carbon atoms.
Nanoporous carbon refers to carbon materials that have a porous structure, with pores that are typically in the range of 2-50 nanometers in size. These pores can be created through various methods, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or templating.
Nanographitic carbon, on the other hand, is a form of carbon that has a graphitic structure, meaning it is made up of layers of hexagonal rings of carbon atoms. These layers can be stacked in different ways to form different types of carbon, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. Like nanoporous carbon, the pore size of nanographitic carbon can range from 2-50 nanometers, but the difference here is that they are formed by the arrangement of carbon atoms in the material.
To identify the difference between these two types of carbon, one could use various characterization methods such as X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, or electron microscopy. For example, X-ray diffraction can be used to identify the crystal structure of the carbon and Raman spectroscopy can be used to analyze the vibrations of the carbon atoms, which can be used to identify the type of carbon material.