Porous tubular carbon nanorods with excellent electrochemical properties

We report on the preparation of porous tubular carbon nanorods with a high surface area and excellent electrochemical properties through a template-mediated process. The synthesis involves the preparation of rod-like nickel-hydrazine complexes in a reverse micelle, sequential coating of the nanorods with a layer of phenolic resin and then silica, carbonization at a high temperature in an inert atmosphere, and finally release of tubular carbon nanorods through sequential etching in NaOH and HCl solutions. The silica layer protects the nanorods from aggregation during carbonization and its subsequent removal renders the tubular carbon nanorods a hydrophilic surface, which significantly improves its dispersity in aqueous media. When used as active electrode materials for supercapacitors, the as-prepared tubular carbon nanorods show superior electrochemical performance to commercial graphite and carbon nanotubes.