Highly ordered mesoporous carbon nanofiber arrays from a crab shell biological template and its application in supercapacitors and fuel cells

Abstract

Mesoporous carbons with large uniform pore sizes and high surface areas are of great interest due to their potential applications in electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), hydrogen storage, separation and catalysis. Here, we report a facile synthesis approach to highly ordered mesoporous carbon nanofiber arrays (MCNAs) by combining surfactant-templating self-assembly of organic resols with a natural crab shell hard-templating process. The obtained materials consist of a mesoporous carbon nanofiber (70 nm in mean diameter and 11 nm in mesopore), an interspacing void of 70 nm between nanofibers, and 1 micrometre of pores between nanofiber arrays. The unique structure (ordered mesopores, macroporous voids and partially graphitic framework) provides a more favorable path for electrolyte penetration and transportation, good electronic conductivity, as well as possess a large specific surface area (1270 m2 g−1) and more vacancies or defects in a graphite plane, which facilitate uniform distribution of metal nanoparticles and a synergistic effect between the nanoparticles and MCNAs, and give rise to promising electrocatalytic activity as a supporting medium for Pt in direct methanol fuel cells. The resultant materials also have excellent capacitive performance for supercapacitor application.