Mesoporous carbon materials as electrodes for electrochemical double-layer capacitor

Nanostructured carbon materials with a regular array and narrow size distribution of mesopores have been synthesized at Oak Ridge National Laboratory via the self-assembly of block copolymers as soft templates. One promising application for these materials is as electrodes for electrochemical double-layer capacitors. To evaluate the performance, electrodes were prepared by coating the precursor onto fibrous carbon paper, followed by curing and pyrolysis at 850°C. The resulting mesoporous carbon has a surface area of 310 m²/g and an average pore size of 8.5 nm. Results from cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy experiments using a sulfuric acid electrolyte showed high specific capacitance values of up to 300 F/g. For comparison, a commercially available aerogel carbon coated paper was also examined.