In-Situ Preparation of Boron-Doped Carbons with Ordered Mesopores and Enhanced Electrochemical Properties in Supercapacitors

Abstract

Boron-doped ordered mesoporous carbons (B-OMCs) were successfully prepared using an in-situ approach via organic-inorganic co-assembly, in which, laboratory-made boron-modified phenolic resins were selected as the carbon precursor, tetraethyl orthosilicate as the inorganic precursor and reverse amphiphilic triblock copolymer as the soft template. Their structures and electrochemical properties were investigated in detail. The results showed that the B-OMCs possessed highly ordered mesoporous structures and large surface areas ranging from 1367 to 1657m 2 /g. The pore diameters of B-OMCs increased due to the restraint of B to the contraction of the carbon framework during carbonization process. The obtained OMC (0.12% B doped) sample exhibited superior electrochemical performance with large specific capacitance of 196 F/g in 6 M KOH electrolyte at the current density of 50 mA/g, which was mainly owing to the pseudocapacitance offered by the heteroatom-containing functional chemical groups. Simultaneously, the OMC (0.12% B doped) was able to maintain the ordered pore structure with hexagonal arrays of mesopores. © 2012 The Electrochemical Society.