Monolithic porous carbon prepared by Na2 CO3 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 °C, crushed into fine particles, compacted into a disc, carbonized at 800 °C 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.