Preparation of mesocellular carbon foam and its application for lithium/oxygen battery

A mesocellular carbon foam (MCF-C) was prepared by nanocasting technology using mesocellular foam (MCF) silica hard template. The obtained carbon sample exhibits bimodal mesopores with narrow pore size distribution, centered at 4.3 and 30.4 nm. The MCF-C was evaluated as positive electrode in lithium/oxygen battery. It showed a higher discharge capacity, about 40% increased capacity compared to several commercial carbon black. The enhanced performance is probably ascribed to their large pore volumes and ultra-large mesoporous structures, which allow more lithium oxide deposit during discharge process. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.