Mesoporous Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion

Abstract

To meet the high‐speed commercialization demands of electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices, the development of high‐performance and low‐cost electrode materials is urgently necessary. Mesoporous carbon, which shows excellent intrinsic characteristics and flexible structure, has raised a surge of interest recently since it offers opportunities for improving the energy or power density and durability as well as reducing the cost of electrodes. In this paper, we first review primary methods for preparing mesoporous carbons. Next, the obstacles in lithium batteries, supercapacitors, proton exchange membrane fuel cells and water electrolyzers are analyzed and the recent progresses of mesoporous carbon based electrode designs in solving these obstacles are systematically introduced. Finally, we outline current challenges and future directions of developing mesoporous carbon based electrode materials in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. In creating this review, we hope to give a succinct introduction to the mesoporous carbon and provide meaningful references for its future research.

Continuous and Scalable Manufacture of Coal-Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon Dominated with Mesopores for High Rate-Performance Supercapacitors

“…For this purpose, PVB was added as a cross-linker and sacrificial template in the molding process to allow generating micrometer-sized macropores in the carbonization process. These macropores could be served as activator diffusion channels, which not only avoid excessive ablation of the particle surface but also promote the activation reaction proceeds adequately, thus facilitating the formation of interconnected multiscale pore structures of porous carbon. ,,, The fabrication process of the HPCs is shown in Figure a. Therein, the additional amount of PVB is the key factor affecting the morphology, pore structure, and surface chemical structure of the porous carbon material.…”

“…Their large surface area, tunable pore structure, excellent chemical stability, and low cost contribute to their suitability. − Typically, porous carbon-based electrode materials store energy through the electrostatic accumulation of charge at the electrode–electrolyte interface. , Therefore, their energy storage performance is directly related to the contact area between the electrode and the electrolyte. A well-engineered pore structure of hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) dominated with mesopores can provide abundant active sites for ion adsorption and minimizes the ion diffusion path, thereby augmenting the overall electrochemical performance. , Unfortunately, research in recent years has mainly based on chemical activation or hard/soft template methods to fabricate porous carbon materials rich in mesopores. Fu et al used potassium oxalate as a chemical activator to fabricate coal-based mesoporous carbon as an electrode material for supercapacitors, which had a satisfactory specific capacitance of 376.5 F g –1 at 0.5 A g –1 .…”

Recent Advances in Carbon‐Based Electrodes for Energy Storage and Conversion

“…Graphene and CNTs having high crystallinity, electronic mobility, and importantly high thermal conductivity, are uniquely suited for energy storage applications. It should be mentioned that although the applications of carbon nanostructures in energy storage and conversion have been reviewed on several occasions in the past few years, [ 3,10,45–65 ] it is a rapidly evolving and highly active field, and the vast amount of research carried out worldwide has accumulated very quickly. Moreover, the present status of the state‐of‐the‐art design of carbon‐based pure/doped/hybrid nanomaterials, their functionalities with a better in‐depth understanding of materials, as well as their interfaces and phenomena occurring therein, can help design novel next‐generation batteries, supercapacitor or hybrid devices with new applications.…”

Precursor design for efficient synthesis of large-pore, sulfur-doped ordered mesoporous carbon through direct pyrolysis

“…[1][2][3] Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) represent a subclass of porous carbons which contain uniform structures with pore sizes in the range from 2 to 50 nm. 4 The immense utility of OMCs has been demonstrated in a variety of fields including energy storage, 5,6 water remediation, 7,8 gas capture, 9 biomedicine, 10,11 and catalysis. 12 In general, OMCs synthesis have been relied on the self-assembly of polymeric materials to form ordered mesostructures.…”