Macaroni Fullerene Crystals-Derived Mesoporous Carbon Tubes as a High Rate Performance Supercapacitor Electrode Material

Self-assembled macaroni fullerene C60 crystals (MFCs) of uniform shape and narrow size distribution are produced using the dynamic liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method under ambient conditions. High temperature heat treatment (900 °C) of MFCs yields mesoporous carbons tubes (MCTs) retaining the initial morphology. This novel mesoporous carbon material exhibits excellent electrochemical supercapacitive performance due to high surface areas (1544 m2 g−1), large pore volume (2.936 cm3 g−1) and interconnected porous structures. In a three-electrode aqueous electrolyte system, the electrode achieved high specific capacitance ca. 422 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 followed by excellent cycling stability (>95%) after 10,000 charging-discharging cycles at 20 A g−1. We believe that the novel mesoporous carbon material derived from a π-electron carbon source can be used as an alternative electrode material in advanced supercapacitor devices.