High-Rate Electrochemical Capacitors Based on Ordered Mesoporous Silicon Carbide-Derived Carbon

Microporous carbons, produced by selective etching of metal carbides in a chlorine-containing environment, offer narrow distribution of micropores and one of the highest specific capacitances reported when used in electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC) with organic electrolytes. Previously, the small micropores in these carbons served as an impediment to ion transport and limited the power storage characteristics of EDLC. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, how the preparation and application of templated carbide-derived carbon (CDC) can overcome the present limitations and show the route for dramatic performance enhancement. The ordered mesoporous channels in the produced CDC serve as ion-highways and allow for very fast ionic transport into the bulk of the CDC particles. The enhanced transport led to 85% capacitance retention at current densities up to approximately 20 A/g. The ordered mesopores in silicon carbide precursor also allow the produced CDC to exhibit a specific surface area up to 2430 m(2)/g and a specific capacitance up to 170 F/g when tested in 1 M tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate solution in acetonitrile, nearly doubling the previously reported values.