Decorated resol derived mesoporous carbon: highly ordered microstructure, rich boron incorporation, and excellent electrochemical capacitance

Abstract

Nanoarchitecturing of carbon with assembled building blocks in diverse scales with superior physical properties and tunable chemical characters is of great importance for energy storage. Therefore, exploring boron-modified ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with tailorable microstructure and controllable incorporation become scientifically necessary. In this contribution, the boron-rich ordered mesoporous carbons were formed via a solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly strategy with controllable boron incorporation, tailorable microstructure, and extraordinary electrochemical capacitance. The incorporated boron content can be verified from 0 to 1.64 wt%, and the obtained B-OMCs exhibited widened potential window and enhanced specific capacitance. A maximum value of B incorporation (1.01–1.35 wt%) was detected in improving the specific capacitance (0.38–0.39 Fm⁻²). This is attributed to the specific oxygen chemisorption and the strengthened surface polarization accompanied with B modification. These results demonstrate the material chemistry, widen the potential applications, and in consequence allow mechanistic insight into the roles boron played for OMC textures and electrochemical activities.