Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany.
Acc Chem Res. 2013 Jan 15;46(1):116-28. doi: 10.1021/ar3001475. Epub 2012 Oct 30.
The development of high-performance electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices, including supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and fuel cells, is an important step on the road to alternative energy technologies. Carbon-containing nanomaterials (CCNMs), defined here as pure carbon materials and carbon/metal (oxide, hydroxide) hybrids with structural features on the nanometer scale, show potential application in such devices. Because of their pronounced electrochemical activity, high chemical and thermal stability and low cost, researchers are interested in CCNMs to serve as electrodes in energy-related devices. Various all-carbon materials are candidates for electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. Furthermore, carbon-based hybrid materials, which consist of a carbon component with metal oxide- or metal hydroxide-based nanostructures, offer the opportunity to combine the attractive properties of these two components and tune the behavior of the resulting materials. As such, the design and synthesis of CCNMs provide an attractive route for the construction of high-performance electrode materials. Studies in these areas have revealed that both the composition and the fabrication protocol employed in preparing CCNMs influence the morphology and microstructure of the resulting material and its electrochemical performance. Consequently, researchers have developed several synthesis strategies, including hard-templated, soft-templated, and template-free synthesis of CCNMs. In this Account, we focus on recent advances in the controlled synthesis of such CCNMs and the potential of the resulting materials for energy storage or conversion applications. The Account is divided into four major categories based on the carbon precursor employed in the synthesis: low molecular weight organic or organometallic molecules, hyperbranched or cross-linked polymers consisting of aromatic subunits, self-assembling discotic molecules, and graphenes. In each case, we highlight representative examples of CCNMs with both new nanostructures and electrochemical performance suitable for energy storage or conversion applications. In addition, this Account provides an overall perspective on the current state of efforts aimed at the controlled synthesis of CCNMs and identifies some of the remaining challenges.
开发高性能电化学储能和转换器件，包括超级电容器、锂离子电池和燃料电池，是替代能源技术道路上的重要一步。含碳纳米材料（CCNMs），这里定义为具有纳米级结构特征的纯碳材料和碳/金属（氧化物、氢氧化物）杂化物，在这些器件中具有潜在的应用。由于其显著的电化学活性、高化学和热稳定性以及低成本，研究人员对 CCNMs 作为能源相关器件中的电极材料很感兴趣。各种全碳材料都是电化学储能和转换器件的候选材料。此外，由碳组分和基于金属氧化物或金属氢氧化物的纳米结构组成的碳基混合材料提供了结合这两种组分的诱人特性并调整所得材料行为的机会。因此，CCNMs 的设计和合成为构建高性能电极材料提供了一条有吸引力的途径。这些领域的研究表明，制备 CCNMs 时所采用的组成和制造方案都会影响所得材料的形态和微观结构及其电化学性能。因此，研究人员已经开发了几种合成策略，包括硬模板、软模板和无模板合成 CCNMs。在本述评中，我们重点介绍了这些 CCNMs 的可控合成方面的最新进展，以及由此得到的材料在储能或转换应用方面的潜力。该述评主要基于合成中使用的碳前体分为四大类：低分子量有机或有机金属分子、由芳香族亚基组成的超支化或交联聚合物、自组装盘状分子和石墨烯。在每种情况下，我们都强调了具有新纳米结构和适合储能或转换应用的电化学性能的 CCNMs 的代表性示例。此外，本述评还提供了对目前旨在可控合成 CCNMs 的努力的总体看法，并确定了一些尚存的挑战。
