Abstract
The effect of activation temperature on the structural properties and the electrochemical performance of KOH-activated carbon xerogel was investigated in range of 700 to 1000°C. At a high temperature (1000°C), the chemical activation regenerated a more crystalline network structure of activated carbon xerogels, which was observed by Raman, XRD, and TEM images. Additionally, SEM images, BET, BJH, and t-plot were used to study the structural properties of carbon xerogels. The carbon xerogel sample activated at 900°C was found with the most appropriate structure, which has the high micropore area and a more-balanced porosity between the micropores and mesopores, for using as an electrode material. The highest obtained specific capacitance value was 270 Fg−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte at scan rate of 5 mVs−1 from the cyclic voltammetry.
Highlights
In recent years, the utilization of acid catalysts in the preparation process of carbon xerogels has received much research attention by scientists because of a significant shortening effect of the preparation process, which leads to a decrease of the cost of products
The activation route is suggested to improve the structural properties of carbon xerogels by generating carbon materials with higher porosity is the chemical activation, which is a process of heating the mixture and includes the impregnation of an activating reagent onto a carbon precursor, resulting in greater development of a porous structure [2,3,4]
We reported a simple method for the preparation of a carbon xerogel and subsequent activation with KOH to generate activated carbon xerogels
Summary
The utilization of acid catalysts in the preparation process of carbon xerogels has received much research attention by scientists because of a significant shortening effect of the preparation process, which leads to a decrease of the cost of products. Acid-catalyzed carbon xerogels have excellent properties such as low density, high electrical conductivity, high surface area, and large pore volume [1], which are appropriate for applications as adsorbents, as porous electrodes for supercapacitors. Further improvement of the characteristic properties of carbon xerogels is necessary to enhance their application efficiency, especially for use as an electrode material in electrical double-layer capacitors. The activation route is suggested to improve the structural properties of carbon xerogels by generating carbon materials with higher porosity is the chemical activation, which is a process of heating the mixture and includes the impregnation of an activating reagent onto a carbon precursor, resulting in greater development of a porous structure [2,3,4]. Investigation into the control of pore size in the carbon structure so that the pore size is small enough to have the highest surface area and large enough for the pore size to approach the electrolyte ion size or find of the most appropriate electrolyte for the pore size of the generated carbon samples was suggested
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