Controlled Synthesis of Mesoporous Carbon Nanostructures via a “Silica-Assisted” Strategy

• Published in: Nano letters 2013-01, Vol.13 (1), p.207-212
• Main Authors: Qiao, Zhen-An, Guo, Bingkun, Binder, Andrew J, Chen, Jihua, Veith, Gabriel M, Dai, Sheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Capacitance; Carbon; Chemical synthesis methods; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Ethyl alcohol; Exact sciences and technology; Fullerenes and related materials; diamonds, graphite; Low-dimensional structures (superlattices, quantum well structures, multilayers): structure, and nonelectronic properties; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanospheres; Nanostructure; Physics; Precursors; Silicates; Specific materials; Strategy; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Synthesis
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl303889h

We have established a facile and generalizable “silica-assisted” synthesis for diverse carbon spheresa category that covers mesoporous carbon nanospheres, hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres, and yolk-shell mesoporous carbon nanospheresby using phenolic resols as a polymer precursor, silicate oligomers as an inorganic precursor, and hexadecyl trimethylammoniumchloride as a template. The particle sizes of the carbon nanospheres are uniform and easily controlled in a wide range of 180–850 nm by simply varying the ethanol concentrations. All three types of mesoporous carbon nanospheres have high surface areas and large pore volumes and exhibit promising properties for supercapacitors with high capacitance and favorable capacitance retention.