Nanosheet Graphene Composite Carbon Aerogels from Resorcinol-Formaldehyde via an Adsorption-Assembly Polymerization...

An adsorption-assembly sol-gel polymerization between graphene oxide (GO) sheets and resorcinol-formaldehyde aqueous solution was investigated as a method to form graphene composite carbon aerogels (GCAs) with cross-linked nanosheet structure and a surface area as high as 489 m2/g. By adjusting the amount of GO and the catalyst of hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) in the precursor mixture, aerogels with little drying shrinkage under ambient pressure condition could be obtained. Benefiting from the attendance of graphene oxide, the obtained GCAs showed a regular nanosheets structure with countless nano-size particles on the sheet surface, which is quite different from the conventional carbon aerogels. The electrochemical performance of the GCAs were evaluated, they displayed small internal resistance and outstanding electrochemical specific capacitance (131 F/g), as well as a stable cycle performance (no capacitance loss after 5000 cycles).