Structure-property relationships of carbon aerogels

Of the organic reactions in sol-gel polymerizations, the most studied reaction is the aqueous polycondensation of resorcinol with formaldehyde; the resulting crosslinked gels are supercritically dried from CO{sub 2} to give resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aerogels. These aerogels can be pyrolyzed to form vitreous carbon monoliths with black color, high porosity, ultrafine cell/pore size, high surface area, and interconnected particles of the organic precursor. The structure and properties of the carbon aerogels depend on R/C (resorcinol/catalyst) ratio of starting solution, pyrolysis temperature, and chemical activation. Each variable is discussed. Carbon aerogels provide an almost ideal electrode material (in double-layer capacitors) owing to low electrical resistivity (<40 mohm-cm), controllable pore size distribution (5--500 {angstrom}), and high volumetric surface areas ({approximately}500 m{sup 2}/cm{sup 3}).