Monolithic porous carbon prepared by Na2CO3 templating as a substrate for a nickel hydroxide electrode

Monolithic porous carbon (MPC) was synthesized by a templating method using Na2CO3 as template, novolac-type phenolic resin as carbon precursor and hexamethylenetetramine as hardening agent. The template, carbon precursor and hardening agent were mechanically mixed in a grinding machine, hardened at 150 ℃, crushed into fine particles, compacted into a disc, carbonized at 800℃ and finally washed with deionized water to form MPC. MPC-Ni(OH)2 electrodes were prepared by loading Ni(OH)2 into the MPC by cathodic deposition. The MPC is hierarchically porous, has an electric conductivity of 20.40 S·cm-1 and a specific surface area of 576 m2·g-1.Charge-discharge characterization of the MPC-Ni(OH)2 electrodes shows that the specific capacities based on active material and the whole electrode are 230 mAh·g-1 and 131 mAh·g-1, respectively. This suggests that the MPC is a promising lightweight matrix to host nickel hydroxide to achieve a high specific energy in nickel-based alkaline batteries.