This invention relates to the control of pore size and enhancement of electrical conductivity in reticulated vitreous carbon (RYC) prepared from open cell polyurethane foam pre-cursors. By controlling the pore size, it is possible to prepare various grades of RYC, in terms of pores per inch (ppi). The various proir arts in which RYC is prepared from open cell polyurethane foams do not deal with L'1e preparation of various grades of RYC by controlling the pore size. RYC is a commonly used electrode in electrolytic cells. The lower the electrical resistivity, higher the performance of the electrode would be. In the present invention, we use the composites of open cell polyurethane foams with montmorillonite based clays, as the precursor foam. This composite foam is pyrolysed to get RYCs of tailored pore sizes and enhanced electrical conductivity

Indian patent application no. 1111/MUM/2005 Patent grant no. 247318
Inventors: Harikrishnan G, T Umasankar Patro, and D V Khakhar