Fabrication of continuous mesoporous carbon films with face-centered orthorhombic symmetry through a soft templating pathway

Preparation of well-ordered continuous mesoporous carbon films without the use of an intermediate inorganic template was achieved by spin coating of a thermosetting phenolic resin, resorcinol/phloroglucinol/formaldehyde, and a thermally-decomposable organic template, Pluronic F127 (PEO106–PPO70–PEO106). The carbon films were deposited onto silicon, platinum/silicon, copper, glass, and quartz substrates. Afterwards, decomposition of the organic template and solidification of the carbon precursors are simultaneously performed through a carbonization process. The resulting films referred to as CKU-F69, are (010)-oriented, and possess a face-centered orthorhombic Fmmm symmetry. Film periodicity is maintained even after a 68% uniaxial contraction perpendicular to the substrate brought on by carbonization at 800 °C. This method could facilitate the mass-production and creation of new carbon and carbon–polymer porous films that find broad potential applications in catalysis, separation, hydrogen storage, bioengineering, nanodevices, and nanotemplates

An Experimental Investigation of the Ion Storage/Transfer Behavior in an Electrical Double-Layer Capacitor by Using Monodisperse Carbon Spheres with Microporous Structure

Monodisperse carbon spheres with coefficient of variation less than 4% were successfully synthesized through polycondensation of resorcinol with formaldehyde in the presence of ammonia as a catalyst followed by carbonization in an inert atmosphere. The diameters of the carbon spheres can be tuned in the range of 220–1140 nm by adjusting the ammonia concentration in the precursor solutions. Although the particle size decreases with increasing ammonia concentrations, there is no large difference in the internal pore structure between the different-sized carbon spheres. The size-controlled monodisperse carbon spheres were used as a model material to understand the ion storage/transfer behavior in electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC). The present study clearly indicates that the reducing the particle size and highly monodispersity in both size and shape were effective at reducing mass transport resistance and improving EDLC performance reliability