Preparation of three dimensionally ordered macroporous carbon with mesoporous walls for electric double-layer capacitors

Three dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) carbons with mesoporous walls were prepared by a colloidal crystal templating method. A three dimensionally ordered composite consisting of monodisperse polystyrene (PS) latex (100–450 nm) and colloidal silica (5–50 nm) was prepared by an evaporation process of suspensions containing PS latex and colloidal silica in water. In the course of the heat treatment of this composite membrane at 573 K under an inert atmosphere, the PS was melted and penetrated into the spaces between the colloidal silica. The penetrated PS was carbonized during further heat treatment to provide a very thin carbon layer on the colloidal silica, and the macropore corresponding to the PS particle size was formed simultaneously. After this procedure, the 3DOM carbon with mesoporous walls was obtained by removing the silica particles. From the results of scanning electron microscope observations and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements, it was confirmed that the prepared carbon had a bimodal porous structure, and the sizes of macropores and mesopores of prepared carbon were in good agreement with the sizes of the PS and silica particles used as templates, respectively. The bimodal porous carbon, which had a specific surface area of 1500 m2 g−1 and 5 nm mesopores, showed highest capacitance of 120 F g−1 in propylene carbonate solution containing 1 mol dm−3 (C2H5)4NBF4. The mesopore size rather than macropore size gave significant effects on the rate capability of carbon electrode during charge and discharge. The bimodal porous carbon having 5 nm mesopores showed an excellent rate capability and its capacitance at a high current density of 4 A g−1 was 109 F g−1.

[1]  M. Dubinin,et al.  Homogeneous and heterogeneous micropore structures in carbonaceous adsorbents , 1980 .

[2]  D. Petridis,et al.  High Surface Area Montmorillonite−Carbon Composites and Derived Carbons , 2004 .

[3]  M. Jaroniec,et al.  Colloidal imprinting: a novel approach to the synthesis of mesoporous carbons. , 2001, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[4]  Younan Xia,et al.  Tuning the Photonic Bandgap Properties of Crystalline Arrays of Polystyrene Beads by Annealing at Elevated Temperatures , 2000 .

[5]  F. Béguin,et al.  Capacitance properties of ordered porous carbon materials prepared by a templating procedure , 2004 .

[6]  M. Ue.  Mobility and Ionic Association of Lithium and Quaternary Ammonium Salts in Propylene Carbonate and γ‐Butyrolactone , 1994 .

[7]  M. Dresselhaus,et al.  ORIGIN OF DISPERSIVE EFFECTS OF THE RAMAN D BAND IN CARBON MATERIALS , 1999 .

[8]  E. Barrett,et al.  (CONTRIBUTION FROM THE MULTIPLE FELLOWSHIP OF BAUGH AND SONS COMPANY, MELLOX INSTITUTE) The Determination of Pore Volume and Area Distributions in Porous Substances. I. Computations from Nitrogen Isotherms , 1951 .

[9]  A. B. Fuertes,et al.  Performance of templated mesoporous carbons in supercapacitors , 2007 .

[10]  K. Kanamura,et al.  Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous carbons having walls composed of hollow mesosized spheres. , 2006, Chemical communications.

[11]  Takeshi Morimoto,et al.  Electric double-layer capacitor using organic electrolyte , 1996 .

[12]  Haoshen Zhou,et al.  Electrochemical capacitance of self-ordered mesoporous carbon , 2003 .

[13]  Tao Zheng,et al.  An Asymmetric Hybrid Nonaqueous Energy Storage Cell , 2001 .

[14]  T. Kudo,et al.  Electrochemical Study of High Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitance of Ordered Porous Carbons with Both Meso/Macropores and Micropores , 2007 .

[15]  B. Conway.  Transition from “Supercapacitor” to “Battery” Behavior in Electrochemical Energy Storage , 1991 .

[16]  T. Kyotani,et al.  Preparation of a high surface area microporous carbon having the structural regularity of Y zeolite , 2000 .

[17]  Andreas Stein,et al.  Effects of Hierarchical Architecture on Electronic and Mechanical Properties of Nanocast Monolithic Porous Carbons and Carbon−Carbon Nanocomposites , 2006 .

[18]  M. S. Dresselhaus,et al.  Capacitance and Pore-Size Distribution in Aqueous and Nonaqueous Electrolytes Using Various Activated Carbon Electrodes , 2001 .

[19]  Norio Miura,et al.  Polyaniline/single-wall carbon nanotube (PANI/SWCNT) composites for high performance supercapacitors , 2006 .

[20]  Hsisheng Teng,et al.  Influence of mesopore volume and adsorbate size on adsorption capacities of activated carbons in aqueous solutions , 2000 .

[21]  A. Ōya,et al.  Electric Double-Layer Capacitance of Meso/Macroporous Activated Carbon Fibers Prepared by the Blending Method I. Nickel-Loaded Activated Carbon Fibers in Propylene Carbonate Solution Containing LiClO 4 Salt , 2002 .

[22]  Wei Xing,et al.  Superior electric double layer capacitors using ordered mesoporous carbons , 2006 .

[23]  Justin C. Lytle,et al.  Synthesis and Rate Performance of Monolithic Macroporous Carbon Electrodes for Lithium‐Ion Secondary Batteries , 2005 .

[24]  F. Béguin,et al.  Textural and electrochemical properties of carbon replica obtained from styryl organo-modified layered double hydroxide , 2006 .

[25]  E. Jakab,et al.  Thermal decomposition of mixtures of vinyl polymers and lignocellulosic materials , 2001 .

[26]  K. Miura,et al.  High‐Capacity Electric Double‐Layer Capacitor with High‐Density‐Activated Carbon Fiber Electrodes , 2000 .

[27]  Huaihe Song,et al.  Pore characteristics and electrochemical performance of ordered mesoporous carbons for electric double-layer capacitors , 2006 .

[28]  Hang Shi,et al.  Activated carbons and double layer capacitance , 1996 .

[29]  A. B. Fuertes,et al.  Influence of pore structure on electric double-layer capacitance of template mesoporous carbons , 2004 .

[30]  T. Kudo,et al.  Electric double layer capacitance on hierarchical porous carbons in an organic electrolyte , 2008 .

[31]  Y. Gogotsi,et al.  Materials for electrochemical capacitors. , 2008, Nature materials.

[32]  F. Béguin,et al.  Carbon materials for the electrochemical storage of energy in capacitors , 2001 .

[33]  T. Kudo,et al.  Colloidal Crystal-Templated Porous Carbon as a High Performance Electrical Double-Layer Capacitor Material , 2004 .

[34]  B. V. Tilak,et al.  Materials for electrochemical capacitors: Theoretical and experimental constraints , 1996 .

[35]  Seung M. Oh,et al.  Synthesis of a new mesoporous carbon and its application to electrochemical double-layer capacitors , 1999 .

[36]  Doron Aurbach,et al.  Carbon Electrodes for Double‐Layer Capacitors I. Relations Between Ion and Pore Dimensions , 2000 .

[37]  D. Lozano‐Castelló,et al.  Influence of pore structure and surface chemistry on electric double layer capacitance in non-aqueous electrolyte , 2003 .

[38]  Andreas Stein,et al.  Colloidal crystal templating of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous solids: materials for photonics and beyond , 2001 .