Fabrication of Ultra-Low Density, High Surface Area Carbon Aerogels and their Application in Supercapacitors

Abstract

The ultra-low density carbon aerogel, as low as 20 mg/cm3, was fabricated by pyrolysis of the organic aerogel formed by aqueous condensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde. Its surface area was as high as 1783 m2/g and it was used for investigation of electrochemical capacitive behaviours. The ultra-low density carbon aerogel displayed capacitive performance (110 F/g at 0.2 A/g) in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. Additionally, over 98% of the initial capacitance was retained after repeating the cyclic voltammetry test for 1000 cycles. The electrochemical performance might be attributed to the combination of three dimensional “opened” structure and high surface area of the carbon aerogel.