A simplified preparation of mesoporous carbon and the examination of the carbon accessibility for electric double layer formation

Mesoporous carbon was prepared from resol-type phenol-formaldehyde resin using mesoporous silica as template. By filling the resin into the pores of the template, followed by resin carbonization and template dissolution, mesoporous carbon preparation can be significantly simplified. Small-angle X-ray diffraction reflected the long-range ordering of the pores in the carbon. TEM and N2-adsorption analysis showed that the carbon contained mesopores of different sizes and a high proportion of micropores. Electrochemical cyclic voltammetry was conducted in H2SO4 to examine the surface accessibility of the carbon for double layer formation. Microporous activated carbon, also from the resol resin, was prepared for comparison. Although the pore sizes are different, the double-layer capacitances per unit area for both carbons are similar at low potential sweep rates. However, the capacitance decline with the sweep rate was less significant for the mesoporous carbon. Upon gasification of the carbons to increase their surface area, the ultimate capacitance per unit carbon area was enhanced and the enhancement was slightly larger for the mesoporous carbon. It is suggested that the presence of mesopores has facilitated the electrolyte migration into carbon interior. A two-electrode capacitor assembled with the mesoporous carbon was shown to have a small resistance and still exhibited a capacitive behavior at high potential sweep rates.