Design and fabrication of hierarchically porous carbon with a template-free method.

ABSTRACT: Fabrication of hierarchically porous carbon materials (HPCs) with high surface area and pore volume has always been pursued. However, the currently effective template methods and acid/base activation strategies suffer from the drawbacks of either high costs or tedious steps. Herein, HPCs with 3D macro-mesopores and short-range meso-micropores were fabricated via an easy and sustainable two-step method from biomass. Macro-mesopores were constructed by slightly accumulation/aggregation of carbon spheres ranging from 60?nm to 80?nm, providing efficient mass diffusion pathways. Short-range mesopores and micropores with high electrolyte accessibility were developed in these spheres by air activation. The obtained HPCs showed surface area values up to 1306?m(2)/g and high mesopore volume proportion (63.9%). They demonstrated excellent capacitance and low equivalent series resistance (ESR) as supercapacitor electrode materials, suggesting the efficient diffusion and adsorption of electrolyte ions in the designed hierarchically porous structure.

SUBMITTER: Gong Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4162313 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature