Formation of Monodisperse Carbon Spheres with Tunable Size via Triblock Copolymer-Assisted Synthesis and Their Capacitor Properties

Abstract

A facile hydrothermal polymerization method has been developed for the preparation of monodisperse carbon spheres (MCSs) using the triblock copolymer F108 as surfactant. The synthesis is based on the ammonia-catalyzed polymerization reaction between phenol and formaldehyde (PF). The resultant MCSs have a perfect spherical morphology, smooth surface, and high dispersity. The particle sizes can be tuned in a wide range of 500~2400 nm by adjusting the dosage of the PF precursor. The activated MCSs with suitable heteroatoms (N and O) doped and a large specific surface area (960 m 2 g− 1 ) were obtained. A high-performance electrode of electrical double-layer capacitors fabricated by those active material have an excellent specific capacitance (310 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 ) and outstanding cycling stability (92% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles). This work provides a new opportunity for the fabrication of MCSs with potential applications. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-019-2952-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Nickel–Cobalt Hydroxides with Tunable Thin-Layer Nanosheets for High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrode

“…Thus, the main solution at present is to develop electrode materials with excellent electrochemical properties [4][5][6][7][8][9]. The carbon materials [10][11][12][13], transition metal oxides [14], transition metal hydroxides (TMHs) [15][16][17] and conductive polymers [18] are the main materials used as supercapacitor electrodes. Among them, multihybrid nanomaterials of TMHs have become a strong trend of exploration because of the existence of synergistic effect, superior chemical composition controllability, outstanding redox activity and excellent anion exchange performance.…”

In Situ Pore Self-Formed Strategy for the Preparation of Sulfur-Doped Hierarchical Porous Carbon Spheres for Supercapacitors

“…Mesopores and macropores can significantly improve the electrode dynamics and rate performance by providing rapid and continuous diffusion pathway of electrolytic ions. 23,24 Therefore, HPCSs would exhibit great advantages compared with microporous or mesoporous carbon spheres. It suggests a general design principle for developing efficient HPCSs materials for high performance supercapacitors.…”