Template Synthesis of Nanostructured Carbonaceous Materials for Application in Electrochemical Devices

Novel conducting nanostructured carbonaceous materials of various microstructures have been successfully prepared from nanocomposites containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN) inside the nanosized pores of imogolite, sepiolite and porous alumina membrane templates. The synthesis and electrochemical characterization of the PAN-inorganic porous solid nanocomposites, as well as their carbonaceous derivatives produced after removal of the matrix, have been studied by CHN elemental chemical analysis, thermal analysis (TGDTA), specific surface area and porosity determinations (N2 isotherms), X-ray diffractometry, FTIR, Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), SEM, TEM and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The properties of the carbonaceous materials as electroactive materials in electrochemical devices such as rechargeable Li-ion batteries and Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitors (EDLC) are reported. The main objective of this work is to study the influence of the template used for the preparation of different carbonaceous materials on their physical-chemical characteristics as well as their electrochemical properties, including their behaviour as electrode materials for Li-ion batteries and EDLC capacitors.