Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2012, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (04): 843-849.doi: 10.3866/PKU.WHXB201202172

• ELECTROCHEMISTRY AND NEW ENERGY • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Pore Structures of Carbon Aerogels and Their Effects on Electrochemical Supercapacitor Performance

LIU Dong1, SHEN Jun1, LI Ya-Jie1, LIU Nian-Ping1, LIU Bin2   

  1. 1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Special Microstructure Materials and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, P. R. China;
    2. Institute of Aerospace Special Materials and Technology, Beijing Mailbox 7203, P. R. China
  • Received:2011-11-23 Revised:2012-01-16 Published:2012-03-21
  • Contact: SHEN Jun E-mail:shenjun67@tongji.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11074189) and Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology, China (11nm0501600).

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Abstract: Control of the pore structures of carbon aerogels (CAs) was investigated by changing the sol-gel polymerization and activation conditions. The morphologies and physical properties of the CAs and KOH activated carbon aerogels (ACAs) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 adsorption isotherms. The electrochemical performances of the CAs and ACAs as electrode materials were characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), a galvanostatic charge-discharge test, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the well developed threedimensional nano-network structures and the reasonable pore size distributions of the CAs have great effect on their electrochemical performance in supercapacitors. Because of abundant mesopores and a high specific surface area (1480 m2·g-1), the specific capacitance of a ACA electrode in 6 mol·L-1 KOH electrolyte was approximately 216 F·g-1 at a scan rate of 100 mV·s-1. A simple model was used to investigate the role of the pores in electrochemical performance.

Key words: Carbon aerogel, Pore structure, Supercapacitor, Electrochemical performance

MSC2000: 

  • O646