Preparation and performance of carbon aerogel and activated carbon aerogel as electrode materials

Carbon aerogel (CA) was prepared by the polycondensation of resorcinol (R) and formaldehyde (F) and then activated by CO2 flow. XRD analysis indicates that in the process of activation, CO2 infiltrates into the network of CA and weakens the(002) and (100) peaks. SEM analysis shows that the CO2 activation does not destroy the framework of CA but adds a great number of nano miropores, and accordingly the specific surface area and micropore proportion of CA are greatly improved. Electrochemical characterization was performed using cyclic Jantammetry and chronopotentiometry in 1 mol/L KOH aqueous solution electrolyte. The CA electrode with and without activation has a stable electrochemistry performance and preferable reversibility. The specific capacitance of CA is 103 F/g before activation, and reaches 371 F/g after activation due to the increase in specific area. (authors)