High-performance porous carbon for supercapacitors prepared by one-step pyrolysis of PF/gelatin blends

A high-performance porous carbon material for supercapacitor electrodes was prepared by using a polymer blend method. Phenol-formaldehyde resin and gelatin were used as carbon precursor polymer and pore former polymer, respectively. The blends were carbonized at 800 °C in nitrogen. SEM, BET measurement and BJH method reveal that the obtained carbon possesses a mesoporous characteristic, with the average pore size between 3.0 nm and 5.0 nm. The electrochemical properties of supercapacitor using these carbons as electrode material were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and constant current charge-discharge. The results indicate that the composition of blended polymers has a strong effect on the specific capacitance. When the mass ratio of PF to gelatin is kept at 1:1, the largest surface area of 222 m²/g is obtained, and the specific capacitance reaches 161 F/g.