Low‐Cost Carbon Xerogels Derived from Phenol–Formaldehyde Resin for Organic Electric Double‐Layer Capacitors

Abstract

In this study, low‐cost carbon xerogels (CXs) are successfully prepared by condensation of phenol and formaldehyde and applied to electrode materials for organic electric double‐layer capacitors (EDLCs). Condensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde is the most commonly used method for the synthesis of CXs because although resorcinol is more expensive than phenol, it has better reactivity with formaldehyde. For this reason, research on the synthesis of CXs derived from phenol–formaldehyde resin is potentially useful for decreasing CX cost. Thus, CXs are synthesized using phenol and formaldehyde while gradually increasing the amount of the catalyst to increase the reactivity between the two compounds. Through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm analysis, successful synthesis of phenol–formaldehyde CXs is confirmed and it is found that a CX prepared with a phenol‐to‐catalyst molar ratio of 50 (PC_50) exhibits the largest surface area among the prepared CXs. Moreover, PC_50 shows good electrochemical performance as an electrode material for organic EDLCs due to its large surface area. In summary, a low‐cost CX with a large surface area and good electrochemical performance is successfully synthesized as an electrode for EDLCs using a phenol precursor, which offers greater cost efficiency compared to resorcinol.

Influence of Resorcinol to Sodium Carbonate Ratio on Carbon Xerogel Properties for Aluminium Ion Battery

“…The mass-normalized surface area A sum was determined to be around 926 m 2 g −1 on average with a maximum of 1004 m 2 g −1 for CXG 500 and a minimum of 894 m 2 g −1 for CXG 1000 . The surface area of all CXG 500–10,000 samples were higher than some values reported in other investigations (300–700 m 2 g −1 ) [ 34 , 41 , 42 , 45 ]. Moreover, the overall pore volume V sum of 0.2–1.0 cm 3 g −1 was similar to values referred to in the literature [ 34 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…The surface area of all CXG 500–10,000 samples were higher than some values reported in other investigations (300–700 m 2 g −1 ) [ 34 , 41 , 42 , 45 ]. Moreover, the overall pore volume V sum of 0.2–1.0 cm 3 g −1 was similar to values referred to in the literature [ 34 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…In contrast, carbon xerogels (CXG) are produced by successive simple vacuum drying and resorcinol-formaldehyde pyrolysis steps. In the last decade, the feasibility of use of carbon xerogels as material for supercapacitors has been intensively investigated [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ], as well as for anode material in Li-ion batteries [ 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Upcycling Plastic Waste into High Value‐Added Carbonaceous Materials

“…Hence, supercapacitors have received attention in fields requiring high power densities, and many studies reported the development of carbon materials that facilitated high electrochemical performance of the supercapacitors. [123][124][125][126][127][128][129] Activated carbon materials, [123,124] carbon aerogels (or xerogels), [124][125][126] and nanocarbon materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon nanohorns [127][128][129] represent carbon electrode materials for supercapacitors. Recent studies involving waste-derived carbon materials for supercapacitor electrodes have attracted increasing environmental interest, [10,19,27,30,34,38,89,[130][131][132][133] and waste plastics are receiving attentions as candidate precursors for supercapacitor electrodes.…”

Improving porous properties of activated carbon from carbon gel by the OTA method

“…Carbon gels possess predominant properties as a controllable pore structure with a high porosity, low electrical resistivity as well as a high machinability. 2 These outstanding properties provide a remarkable potential for the design and tailoring of this material for specic applications such as electric double-layer capacitors, [3][4][5] lithium-ion batteries, [6][7][8] electrodes for fuel cells, [9][10][11] catalyst supports, [12][13][14] gas adsorption, [15][16][17] and water treatment. [18][19][20] Pekala and co-workers [21][22][23] were the rst to prepare organic gels which can be used as the precursor for carbon gels by applying the sol-gel method in 1989.…”