An Interconnected Hierarchical Porous Carbon Materials Prepared by Polymer Precursor and Its Application as Electrode in Supercapacitors

Abstract

Abstract. Interconnected hierarchical porous carbon (IHPC) was prepared by a poly(high internal phase emulsion) (polyHIPE) and carbonation method based on phenolic-formaldehyde resin for supercapacitors. Structural and morphological characterizations of IHPC were carried out using field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Capacitive behaviors of IHPC were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge. Electrochemical tests showed IHPC material have a maximum capacitance of 106 F/g and good cycle stability for supercapacitor application. IntroductionEnergy is one of the most important topics in the 21st century. With the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and increasingly worsened environmental pollution caused by vast fossil-fuel consumption, there is high demand to make efficient use of energy and to seek renewable and clean energy sources that can substitute fossil fuels to enable the sustainable development of our economy and society. Energy storage, an intermediate step to the versatile, clean, and efficient use of energy, has received worldwide concern and increasing research interest [1].Electrochemical capacitors (ECs), as the intermediate devices between conventional batteries and dielectric capacitors, have drawn increasingly attention because of its safety, short charging time and electrochemical stability [2]. It is well known that electrode material is one of the dominating factors that influence the performance of the ECs [3,4]. At present, three different types of supercapacitors are commonly described in literature, depending on the nature of the active material used, carbon materials [5][6][7], conducting polymers [8][9][10], and metal-oxides [11][12][13]. Carbon materials are useful in wide application due to its good conductivity, low cost, and high surface area. Moreover, the carbon materials have good power density, good stability and low resistance for supercapacitors. Carbon materials involved activated carbon [14,15], carbon fiber [16,17], carbon nanotubes [18], and porous carbon [19,20], et al.In this paper, an interconnected hierarchical porous carbon (IHPC) was prepared by the polyHIPE and carbonation method based on phenolic-formaldehyde resin for supercapacitors. Structural and morphological characterizations of IHPC were carried out using field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Capacitive behavior of IHPC was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge in 2 M KOH aqueous solution. The maximum capacitance was up to 106 F/g at the density of 5 mA/cm 2 . ExperimentsAll of the chemicals were analytical grade, purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co. Ltd. and used without further purification. Synthesis of porous polymeric material: Resorcinol and formalin (n resorcinol : n formalin =1: 2) were added to a container and heated to 30 ºC to form a homogeneous solution. After cooling to room temperature a certain mass of amphoteric emulsifier sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) was added. The resulting clear solution was stirred ...