Abstract
High-performance carbon materials for energy storage applications have been obtained by using poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide), PMIA, as a precursor through the chemical activation of the carbonized aramid fiber by using KOH. The yield of the process of activation was remarkably high (25-40 wt %), resulting in activated carbon fibers (ACFs) with ultrahigh surface areas, over 3000 m 2 g-1, and pore volumes exceeding 1.50 cm3 g-1, keeping intact the fibrous morphology. The porous structure and the surface chemical properties could easily be controlled through the conditions of activation. The PMIA-derived ACFs were tested in two types of energy storage applications. At -196 °C and 1 bar, H2 uptake values of approximately 3 wt % were obtained, which, in combination with the textural properties, rendered it a good candidate for H2 adsorption at high pressure and temperature. The performance of the ACFs as electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors was also investigated. Specific capacitance values between 297 and 531 F g-1 at 50 mA g-1 were obtained in aqueous electrolyte (1 M H2SO4), showing different behaviors depending on the surface chemical properties. Versatile microporous carbon fibers: High-performance activated carbon fibers with different textural and surface chemical properties are obtained from a polymeric fiber by simply choosing different preparation conditions. The fibers show very promising performances in energy storage applications such as H2 storage and supercapacitors.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1406-1413 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | ChemSusChem |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 Aug 1 |
Keywords
- activation
- adsorption
- carbon
- energy storage
- microporous materials
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering(all)
- Materials Science(all)
- Energy(all)