Carbon spheres prepared by amino acid-catalyzed resorcinol-formaldehyde polymerization for supercapacitors

Carbon spheres (CS) have been widely used in supercapacitor due to their uniform structure and high surface area. The final properties of CS are affected by both the synthesis conditions and the preparation of precursors. Herein, a simple and green method to catalyze resorcinol/formaldehyde polymerization with catalysis of amino acids was proposed. As the reaction progressed, the amino acid molecules were consumed through the interaction with resorcinol, indicating that it can successfully catalyze the resin polymerization. The L-arginine catalyzed CS shows favorable characteristics for electrochemical energy storage, such as high specific surface area (416 m2 g−1) and high pore volumes (0.24 cm3 g−1). As the electrode material of supercapacitors, it has high specific capacitance of 235 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, excellent rate performance and long-term stability in 6 M KOH As an electrode material, after 10,000 cycles of testing, it can still retain 97.46 % of the initial capacity.