Samples of maple were pyrolyzed and subsequently activated by carbon dioxide at different temperatures for various dwell times. The changes in wood structure were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Increasing pyrolysis temperatures promoted increased crystallization of graphitic wood components and mineral-like phases. The average pore diameter derived from nitrogen adsorption isotherms approximately correlated with the results obtained by high-resolution SEM and TEM. The highest surface area was found for samples containing considerable amounts of nanoperforated pit membranes located in intervascular pitting. High-resolution TEM examinations of membrane regions showed foam-like clusters with an average size of 1.7nm, which are attributed to the selective influence of CO2 activation on pyrolyzed cellulose and ligni
