Synthesis and characterization of methyl benzyl alcohol – formaldehyde based carbon aerogels as electrod materials for supercapacitors

Supercapacitors, as energy storage devices with a high specific power and a long durability, are useful as power sources for hybrid electrical vehicles, for digital telecommunication systems, for computers and pulsed laser system. However, the cost of supercapacitor has been always a critical issue with respect to market penetration. For supercapacitors using cheap aqueous electrolytes, the most critical factor is the cost of the electrode material. Porous carbons, due to their high pore accessibility, excellent thermal and chemical stability as well as relative low cost, are extremely attractive and competitive as electrode materials for supercapacitors. Carbon aerogels have a monolithic three-dimensional mesoporous network consisting of carbon nanoparticles which exhibit a high surface area, controllable pore size distribution, and good electrical conductivity. In this work, we synthesized Methyl- Benzyl Alcohol(MBA) – Formaldehyde(F) carbon aerogels in an aqueous alkaline(NaOH) solution by sol-gel process followed by drying at ambient pressure and carbonization. The gelation temperature was 358K to cure for 3 days. Upon pyrolysis of the organic aerogels at 1173K, MBAF carbon aerogels were produced. The mole ratio of MBA to F (MBA/ F) was selected in 0.5, and the mole ratio of MBA to NaOH (MBA/ Cat) was studied in 50, 60. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), thermal gravity analysis(TGA), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET) analysis, were used to study the obvious chemical and physical changes of aerogel microstructures in detail. The results indicated that the microstructure of carbon aerogels can be effectively controlled and tailored by varying the synthetic conditions during the initial sol–gel process.

Keywords:

carbon aerogels , supercapacitors , electrod materials , energy storage , power source