Synthesis of Porous and Mechanically Compliant Carbon Aerogels Using Conductive and Structural Additives
Autor
Lavela Cabello, Pedro
Tirado Coello, José Luis
Macías, Carlos
Rasines, Gloria
García, Tomás E.
Zafra, Maria C.
Ania, Conchi O.
Editor
MDPIFecha
2016Materia
Carbon aerogelsNanoporous
Electrically conductive
Mechanical properties
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We report the synthesis of conductive and mechanically compliant monolithic carbon
aerogels prepared by sol-gel polycondensation of melamine-resorcinol-formaldehyde (MRF) mixtures
by incorporating diatomite and carbon black additives. The resulting aerogels composites displayed
a well-developed porous structure, confirming that the polymerization of the precursors is not
impeded in the presence of either additive. The aerogels retained the porous structure after etching
off the siliceous additive, indicating adequate cross-linking of the MRF reactants. However, the
presence of diatomite caused a significant fall in the pore volumes, accompanied by coarsening
of the average pore size (predominance of large mesopores and macropores). The diatomite also
prevented structural shrinkage and deformation of the as-prepared monoliths upon densification
by carbonization, even after removal of the siliceous framework. The rigid pristine aerogels became
more flexible upon incorporation of the diatomite, favoring implementation of binderless monolithic
aerogel electrodes.