Ordered Mesoporous Carbons with Graphitic Tubular Frameworks by Dual Templating for Efficient Electrocatalysis and Energy Storage

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their broad utility. OMCs reported to date comprise amorphous rod-like or tubular or graphitic rod-like frameworks, which exhibit tradeoffs between conductivity and surface area. Here we report ordered mesoporous carbons constructed with graphitic tubular frameworks (OMGCs) with tunable pore sizes and mesostructures via dual templating, using mesoporous silica and molybdenum carbide as exo- and endo-templates, respectively. OMGCs simultaneously realize high electrical conductivity and large surface area and pore volume. Benefitting from these features, Ru nanoparticles (NPs) supported on OMGC exhibit superior catalytic activity for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction and single-cell performance for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis compared to Ru NPs on other OMCs and commercial catalysts. Further, the OMGC-based full-carbon symmetric cell demonstrates excellent performances for Li-ion capacitors.

Automated summary

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with graphitic tubular frameworks (OMGCs) fabricated through dual templating demonstrate high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and excellent performance in catalysis, water electrolysis, and Li-ion capacitors. Ru nanoparticles supported on OMGCs exhibit superior catalytic activity compared to other OMCs and commercial catalysts.