Synthesis of carbon aerogels based on resorcinol-formaldehyde/hydroxyethyl cellulose/carbon fiber and its electrochemical properties

Ternary carbon aerogels (CAs) were fabricated via a sol-gel process using resorcinol-formaldehyde (R-F), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HC) and carbon fibers (CFs) in the presence of an acid-base catalyst. The acid-base catalyst was composed of ascorbic acid (VC) and sodium carbonate. The products were carbonized at 900 degrees C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The effects of the acid-base catalyst on the structure and the electrochemical properties of the resulting CAs were studied. The textural and electrochemical properties were investigated by variable instruments (e.g. scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), an ASAP 2420 surface-area analyzer, and a GAMRY Interface 1000 electrochemical workstation). These tests showed that, when the molar ratios of F/R, VC/R and Na2CO3/R were 2, 0.02 and 0.002, respectively, and the mass ratios of HC/R and CF/R were 0.09 and 0.005, respectively, the specific surface area of the resulting CA was 1071 m(2) g(-1) and its specific capacitance was 131 F g(-1); both of these values are substantially better than those in prior reports