Double layer capacitance of high surface area carbon nanospheres derived from resorcinol–formaldehyde polymers

• Published in: Carbon (New York) Vol. 49; no. 14; pp. 4848 - 4857
• Main Authors: Tashima, Daisuke, Yamamoto, Eri, Kai, Nanami, Fujikawa, Daisuke, Sakai, Go, Otsubo, Masahisa, Kijima, Tsuyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Capacitance; Carbon; Catalysis; Chemistry; Colloidal state and disperse state; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Double layer; Exact sciences and technology; Fullerenes and related materials; diamonds, graphite; General and physical chemistry; Materials science; Nanomaterials; Nanospheres; Nanostructure; Physics; Porous materials; Specific materials; Specific surface; Surface area; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry; Ionic surfactants; Porous materials; Cationic surfactant; Activation; Aldehydes; Formaldehyde; Alcohols; Resorcinol; Template; Hydrochloric acid; Alkanol; Nanosphere; Pretreatment; Polymers; Diameter; Catalytic reaction; Electrochemical double layer; Cosurfactant; Butanols; Surfactants; Carbon; Mesoporosity; Quaternary ammonium compound; Microporosity; Composite materials; Capacitance; Surface area
• ISSN: 0008-6223; 1873-3891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2011.07.005

Micro-mesoporous bimodal carbon nanospheres with high surface areas were synthesized by a combined use of surfactant templating technique and BaO 2 chemical activation one. Starting spherical nanopolymer/surfactant composites were prepared by the NaOH-catalyzed reaction of resorcinol (R) and formaldehyde (F) in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a core template and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) and tert-butanol ( t-BuOH) as cosurfactants. After pretreatment with hydrochloric acid, the composite materials were calcined at 1000 °C in N 2 coexistent with varying weight ratios of BaO 2 to RF polymer ranging from 0 to 11. It produced micro-mesoporous bimodal carbon nanospheres of 124–143 nm diameter, with specific surface areas as high as 1884 m 2 g −1 or up to 3301 m 2 g −1, in contrast to microporous ones with smaller surface areas obtained at low BaO 2-loadings. The electrochemical double layer capacitance of the resulting nanocarbons in 0.5 M H 2SO 4 showed a marked increase with specific surface areas, up to as high as 219 F g −1 for the highest surface area carbon material.