Synthesis and electrochemical properties of nanoporous carbon electrode materials for supercapacitors

New microporous and mesoporous carbon electrode materials were synthesized via processes of carbonization of phenol-formaldehyde or resorcinol-formaldehyde resins followed by activation in which potassium hydroxide acted as both the catalyst of polymerization and the chemical activation reagent. Electrochemical properties of the carbon materials were investigated by cyclic voltammetry in basic and acidic media (6 M KOH or 1 M H2SO4) and non-aqueous electrolytes (1 M LiClO4 in acetonitrile). The samples were shown to have high specific surface areas and show high capacitance. Surprisingly, materials prepared in this work have higher capacity in organic electrolytes rather than in water solutions that can be explained by a good wettability of carbon materials by organic solvents and with a suitable porous structure.