CO2 Activated Carbon Aerogel with Enhanced Electrochemical Performance as a Supercapacitor Electrode Material

Carbon aerogel (CA) was prepared by a sol-gel polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde in ambient conditions. A series of activated carbon aerogels (ACA-X, X = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h) were then prepared by CO2 activation of CA with a variation of activation time (X) for use as an electrode material for supercapacitor. Specific capacitances of CA and ACA-X electrodes were measured by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge methods in 6 M KOH electrolyte. Among the samples, ACA-5 h showed the highest BET surface area (2574 m2/g) and the highest specific capacitance (100 F/g). It was found that CO2 activation was a very efficient method for enhancing physicochemical property and supercapacitive electrochemical performance of activated carbon aerogel.