Abstract
Design and synthesis of integrated, interconnected porous structures are critical to the development of high-performance supercapacitors. We develop a novel and facile synthesis technic to construct three-dimensional carbon-bubble foams with hierarchical pores geometry. The carbon-bubble foams are fabricated by conformally coating, via catalytic decomposition of ethanol, a layer of carbon coating onto the surfaces of pre-formed ZnO foams and then the removal of the ZnO template by a reduction-evaporation process. Both the wall thickness and the pore size can be well tuned by adjusting the catalytic decomposition time and temperature. The as-synthesized carbon-bubble foams electrode retains 90.3% of the initial capacitance even after 70 000 continuous cycles under a high current density of 20 A g-1, demonstrating excellent long-time electrochemical and cycling stability. The symmetric device displays rate capability retention of 81.8% with the current density increasing from 0.4 to 20 A g-1. These achieved electrochemical performances originate from the unique structural design of the carbon-bubble foams, which provide not only abundant transport channels for electron and ion but also high active surface area accessible by the electrolyte ions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 275706 |
Journal | Nanotechnology |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 27 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 8 2018 |
Keywords
- ZnO template
- carbon-bubble foams
- catalytic conversion
- hierarchical pores
- supercapacitors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Bioengineering
- General Chemistry
- General Materials Science
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering