Low-temperature fluorination of soft-templated mesoporous carbons for a high-power lithium/carbon fluoride battery

Soft-templated mesoporous carbons and activated mesoporous carbons were fluorinated using elemental fluorine between room temperature and 235 °C. The mesoporous carbons were prepared via self-assembly synthesis of phloroglucinol-formaldehyde as a carbon precursor in the presence of triblock ethylene oxide-propylene oxide-ethylene oxide copolymer BASF Pluronic F127 as the template. The F/C ratios ranged from ∼0.15 to 0.75 according to gravimetric, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. Materials have mesopore diameters up to 11 nm and specific surface areas as high as 850 m² g^-1 after fluorination as calculated from nitrogen adsorption isotherms at -196 °C. Furthermore, the materials exhibit higher discharge potentials and energy and power densities as well as faster reaction kinetics under high current densities than commercial carbon fluorides with similar fluorine contents when tested as cathodes for Li/CF_x batteries.