Electrochemical characteristics of discrete, uniform, and monodispersed hollow mesoporous carbon spheres in double-layered supercapacitors.
Core-shell-structured mesoporous silica spheres were prepared by using n-octadecyltrimethoxysilane (C18TMS) as the surfactant. Hollow mesoporous carbon spheres with controllable diameters were fabricated from core-shell-structured mesoporous silica sphere templates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). By controlling the thickness of the silica shell, hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) with different diameters can be obtained. The use of ethylene as the carbon precursor in the CVD process produces the materials in a single step without the need to remove the surfactant. The mechanism of formation and the role played by the surfactant, C18TMS, are investigated. The materials have large potential in double-layer supercapacitors, and their electrochemical properties were determined. HCSs with thicker mesoporous shells possess a larger surface area, which in turn increases their electrochemical capacitance. The samples prepared at a lower temperature also exhibit increased capacitance as a result of the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) area and larger pore size.
Institute of Chemical and Environment Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology ul. Pulaskiego 10, 70-322 Szczecin (Poland), Fax: (+48) 91449486; State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Science, Renmin road 5625, Changchun (China). xchen@zut.edu.pl.
Xuecheng
X
Chen
Krzysztof
K
Kierzek
Karolina
K
Wenelska
Krzystof
K
Cendrowski
Jiang
J
Gong
Xin
X
Wen
Tao
T
Tang
Paul K
PK
Chu
Ewa
E
Mijowska
chemical vapor deposition; mesoporous materials; nanostructures; silica; supercapacitors