Monolithic porous carbon prepared by Na2 CO3 templating as a substrate for a nickel hydroxide electrode

Abstract

Monolithic porous carbon (MPC) was synthesized by a templating method using Na 2 CO 3 as template, novolac-type phenolic resin as carbon precursor and hexamethylenetetramine as hardening agent. The template, carbon precursor and hardening agent were mechanically mixed in a grinding machine, hardened at 150 °C, crushed into fine particles, compacted into a disc, carbonized at 800 °C and finally washed with deionized water to form MPC. MPC–Ni(OH) 2 electrodes were prepared by loading Ni(OH) 2 into the MPC by cathodic deposition. The MPC is hierarchically porous, has an electric conductivity of 20.40 S cm −1 and a specific surface area of 576 m 2 g −1 . Charge-discharge characterization of the MPC–Ni(OH) 2 electrodes shows that the specific capacities based on active material and the whole electrode are 230 mAh g −1 and 131 mAh g −1 , respectively. This suggests that the MPC is a promising lightweight matrix to host nickel hydroxide to achieve a high specific energy in nickel-based alkaline batteries. [New Carbon Materials 2013, 28(2): 115–120]