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Boosting the Specific Surface Area of Hierarchical Porous Carbon Aerogel through the Multiple Roles of the Catalyst for High‐Performance Supercapacitors
Author(s) -
Li Feng,
Xie Lijing,
Sun Guohua,
Su Fangyuan,
Kong Qingqiang,
Li Qian,
Chao Yuguang,
Guo Xiangyun,
Chen Chengmeng
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.201700880
Subject(s) - aerogel , resorcinol , carbonization , supercapacitor , materials science , specific surface area , chemical engineering , catalysis , carbon fibers , porosity , electrolyte , adsorption , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , electrode , composite material , electrochemistry , chemistry , scanning electron microscope , composite number , engineering
Rational design of carbon aerogel with high specific surface area and controllable porosity is in great need for advanced energy storage systems. Herein, a hierarchical porous carbon aerogel has been successfully prepared through the polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde in the presence of K 2 CO 3 and a subsequent one‐step carbonization process. In this design, three functionalities of K 2 CO 3 are involved, namely, as a catalyst effectively promoting the cross‐linking of resorcinol and formaldehyde, as a shape‐directing agent regulating the resulting carbon network, and as an in situ activator constructing the interconnected hierarchical porous skeleton within the carbonization process. Impressively, an ultrahigh specific surface area of 4568.9 m 2 g −1 and a miraculous pore volume of 4.92 cm 3 g −1 is achieved for the carbon aerogel with a mass ratio of K 2 CO 3 /resorcinol up to 3. Benefiting from its structural merits, the assembled coin‐type supercapacitor with an as‐obtained carbon aerogel electrode in 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIMBF 4 ) electrolyte delivers an excellent energy density of 78.1 Wh kg −1 at a power density of 2.7 kW kg −1 , as well as a favorable rate capability of 88 % after 8000 cycles. Such a design strategy opens up a new opportunity for further development of hierarchically porous carbon aerogels applied in the fields of adsorption, catalysis, and energy storage devices.