Microstructure control of RF and carbon aerogels prepared by sol-gel process

Carbon aerogels derived from an organic sol-gel process and supercritical drying are novel porous materials with interconnected structures and high electrical conductivity, which are considered to be ideal electrode materials for supercapacitors and rechargeable batteries. In this paper we report resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aerogels that have been prepared with high RC ratio (molar ratio of resorcinol to catalyst) by sol-gel process and drying at ambient conditions. Carbon aerogels were obtained by pyrolysis of the RF aerogels. The microstructure of the porous carbon aerogels was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The specific surface area and pore size distribution of RF and carbon aerogels were studied by nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis.