Synthesis of MCM-41 Mesoporous Carbon Materials and Their Electrochemical Performance

A highly ordered mesoporous carbon material was synthesized by a soft template method with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template and soluble starch (Starch) as a carbon source. The structures of the resultant materials were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results showed that MCM-41 ordered mesoporous carbon material (OMC-650) was obtained when the mass ratio of CTAB to Starch was 1.0:1.5, carbonized for 3 h at 650℃, and then removing the silica with hydrofluoric acid.OMC-650 possessed specific surface area of 985 m2/g and average pore diameter of 2.5 nm and exhibited a uniform distribution. XRD and TEM analysis showed that OMC-650 possesses a typical MCM-41 structural feature with high ordered structure. The electrochemical tests were conducted in a three-electrode system in 6 mol/L KOH solution. When OMC-650 was used as a working electrode, mercury oxide electrode was used as a reference electrode, and Pt wire electrode served as an auxiliary electrode. The specific capacitance of OMC-650 reached 150 F/g. The specific capacitance retention rate reached 92% even after one thousand charge-discharge cycles(138 F/g), demonstrating that OMC-650 had excellent capacitance stability. © 2017, Editorial Office of FINE CHEMICALS. All right reserved.