Synthesis of mesoporous carbon as electrode material for supercapacitor by modified template method

Abstract

The pore structures and electrochemical performances of mesoporous carbons prepared by silica sol template method as electrode material for supercapacitor were investigated. The mean pore size and mass specific capacitance of the mesoporous carbons increase with the increase of mass ratio of silica sol to carbon source (glucose). A modified template method, combining silica sol template method and ZnCl₂ chemical activation method, was proposed to improve the mass specific capacitance of the mesoporous carbon with an improved BET surface area. The correlation of rate capability and pore structure was studied by constant current discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A commercially available microporous carbon was used for comparison. The result shows that mesoporous carbon with a larger pore size displays a higher rate capability. Mesoporous carbon synthesized by modified template method has both high mass specific capacitance and good rate capability.

Keywords

supercapacitor / mesoporous carbon / modified template method / electrochemical performance / synthesis

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