High-performance porous carbon for supercapacitors prepared by one-step pyrolysis of PF/gelatin blends

Abstract

A high-performance porous carbon material for supercapacitor electrodes was prepared by using a polymer blend method. Phenol-formaldehyde resin and gelatin were used as carbon precursor polymer and pore former polymer, respectively. The blends were carbonized at 800 °C in nitrogen. SEM, BET measurement and BJH method reveal that the obtained carbon possesses a mesoporous characteristic, with the average pore size between 3.0 nm and 5.0 nm. The electrochemical properties of supercapacitor using these carbons as electrode material were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and constant current charge−discharge. The results indicate that the composition of blended polymers has a strong effect on the specific capacitance. When the mass ratio of PF to gelatin is kept at 1:1, the largest surface area of 222 m 2 /g is obtained, and the specific capacitance reaches 161 F/g.

Porous carbon supported Pd catalysts derived from gelatin‐based/chitosan or polyvinyl pyrrolidone/PdCl2 blends

“…36 Natural biopolymer of CS 37 has been proven as another effective stabilizer for transition metal catalysts, such as Au, Pd, Pt, and their alloy nano clusters. Previous studies [38][39][40][41] showed that the microstructure and properties of the GEL-derived porous N-containing carbon can be effectively modified by blending with other polymers. For example, using GEL/phenol-formaldehyde resin (GEL/PF) 38 as novel carbon precursor and silica as porogen, the synthesis efficiency of mesoporous carbon with large pore size and volume can be greatly improved.…”

“…Previous studies [38][39][40][41] showed that the microstructure and properties of the GEL-derived porous N-containing carbon can be effectively modified by blending with other polymers. For example, using GEL/phenol-formaldehyde resin (GEL/PF) 38 as novel carbon precursor and silica as porogen, the synthesis efficiency of mesoporous carbon with large pore size and volume can be greatly improved. Both PVP and CS are N-containing polymers, and they can be used as effective starting materials for N-containing carbons.…”