Dingcai Wu,*,† Fei Xu,† Bin Sun,† Ruowen Fu,† Hongkun He,‡ and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski*,‡ †Materials Science Institute, Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People's Republic of China ‡Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States

Design and Preparation of Porous Polymers

Electrochemical capacitors, also known as supercapacitors, are becoming increasingly important components in energy storage, although their widespread use has not been attained due to a high cost/performance ratio. Fundamental research is contributing to lowered costs through the engineering of new materials. Currently the most viable materials used in electrochemical capacitors are biomass-derived and polymer-derived activated carbons, although other carbon materials are useful research tools. Metal oxides could result in a step change for electrochemical capacitor technology and is an exciting area of research. The selection of an appropriate electrolyte and electrode structure is fundamental in determining device performance. Although there are still many uncertainties in understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in electrochemical capacitors, genuine progress continues to be made. It is argued that a large, collaborative international research programme is necessary to fully develop the potential of electrochemical capacitors.

Energy storage in electrochemical capacitors: designing functional materials to improve performance

Carbon aerogels are a unique class of high-surface-area materials derived by sol–gel chemistry. Their high mass-specific surface area and electrical conductivity, environmental compatibility and chemical inertness make them very promising materials for many energy related applications, specifically in view of recent developments in controlling their morphology. In this perspective we will review the synthesis of monolithic resorcinol–formaldehyde based carbon aerogels with hierarchical porosities for energy applications, including carbon nanotube and graphene composite carbon aerogels, as well as their functionalization by surface engineering. Applications that we will discuss include hydrogen and electrical energy storage, desalination and catalysis.

Advanced carbon aerogels for energy applications

Recent advances in aerogels for environmental remediation applications: A review

Exploring advanced porous materials is of critical importance in the development of science and technology. Porous polymers, being famous for their all-organic components, tailored pore structures, and adjustable chemical components, have attracted an increasing level of research interest in a large number of applications, including gas adsorption/storage, separation, catalysis, environmental remediation, energy, optoelectronics, and health. Recent years have witnessed tremendous research breakthroughs in these fields thanks to the unique pore structures and versatile skeletons of porous polymers. Here, recent milestones in the diverse applications of porous polymers are presented, with an emphasis on the structural requirements or parameters that dominate their properties and functionalities. The Review covers the following applications: i) gas adsorption, ii) water treatment, iii) separation, iv) heterogeneous catalysis, v) electrochemical energy storage, vi) precursors for porous carbons, and vii) other applications (e.g., intelligent temperature control textiles, sensing, proton conduction, biomedicine, optoelectronics, and actuators). The key requirements for each application are discussed and an in-depth understanding of the structure-property relationships of these advanced materials is provided. Finally, a perspective on the future research directions and challenges in this field is presented for further studies.

Porous Polymers as Multifunctional Material Platforms toward Task-Specific Applications.

Low-density organic and carbon aerogels are prepared from the sol–gel polymerization of cheap phenol with formaldehyde using NaOH as the base catalyst, followed by ethanol supercritical drying. The effects of the preparation conditions, including the mole ratio of phenol to NaOH (P/C), the mole ratio of phenol to formaldehyde (P/F), phenol–formaldehyde (PF) concentration and gelation temperature, on the gelation time, the bulk density as well as the physical and chemical structures of the resultant organic and carbon aerogels were studied. The experimental results of TEM and nitrogen adsorption showed that the phenol derived organic and carbon aerogels have a three-dimensional network that consists of interconnected bead-like particles with diameters of approximately 10–15 nm, which define numerous mesopores less than 50 nm. The highest measured BET surface area and mesopore volume of the carbon aerogels obtained reached 714 m 2  g −1 and 1.84 cm 3  g −1 , respectively.

Low-density organic and carbon aerogels from the sol–gel polymerization of phenol with formaldehyde

Activated carbon aerogels (ACAs) with excellent microporosity (e.g., 0.44 cm 3 /g) and mesoporosity (e.g., 1.72 cm /g) were prepared by CO 2 activation. Their structures were investigated with transmission electron microscopy and N 2 adsorption-desorption analysis. Subsequently, their adsorption properties toward organic vapors were studied with static and dynamic adsorption experiments. The micropores of the ACAs had stronger adsorption ability than those of normal porous carbons. Furthermore, the condensation of organic vapors in the mesopores of ACAs greatly enhanced their equilibrium adsorption at high relative pressures. As a result, the adsorption capacities of organic vapors on the typical ACAs prepared were about 2-3 times greater than those on normal porous carbons. In addition, they also possessed excellent adsorption dynamics and outstanding desorption and regeneration properties.

Zhuoqi Sun

Papers

Low-density organic and carbon aerogels from the sol–gel polymerization of phenol with formaldehyde

Structure and adsorption properties of activated carbon aerogels