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Carbon aerogels with modified pore structures as electrode materials for supercapacitors

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Abstract

Carbon aerogels (CA) with uniform pore structures were prepared by the polycondensation of phloroglucinol, resorcinol, and formaldehyde, using carboxylated chitosan as a soft template. The CA were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, and surface area analysis. When carboxylated chitosan was added, the time for wet gel formation was reduced by 60%, and the CA showed a more uniform pore structures. The electrochemical performance of the CA was measured in a three-electrode electrochemical cell. The CA prepared with added carboxylated chitosan showed lower charge transfer resistance on the electrode surface, and the specific capacitances were also enhanced, showing a specific capacitance as high as 135 F/g at a resorcinol-to-carboxylated chitosan mass ratio of 250:1 at a current density of 0.5 A/g. This specific capacitance is much higher than that of the CA without carboxylated chitosan. The capacitance retention under increasing discharge current density was also enhanced by the addition of carboxylated chitosan. The electrochemical performance of the CA in different electrolytes (1 M LiOH, 1 M NaOH, 1 M KOH, 3 M KOH, 6 M KOH, and 9 M KOH) was investigated. The results show that the electrochemical performance in 6 M KOH was better than those in other electrolytes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21376062).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300130, People’s Republic of China

    Zuozhao Zhai & Shasha Wang

  2. Institute of Energy Resources, Hebei Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050081, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Zuozhao Zhai, Shasha Wang, Yuelong Xu, Lihui Zhang, Meifang Yan & Zhenfa Liu

  3. Hebei Engineer Research Center for Water Saving in Industry, Shijiazhuang, 050081, Hebei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Shasha Wang, Yuelong Xu, Lihui Zhang, Meifang Yan & Zhenfa Liu

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  1. Zuozhao Zhai
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  2. Shasha Wang
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Correspondence to Zhenfa Liu.

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Zhai, Z., Wang, S., Xu, Y. et al. Carbon aerogels with modified pore structures as electrode materials for supercapacitors. J Solid State Electrochem 21, 3545–3555 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-017-3699-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-017-3699-8

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