Carbon aerogels are mesoporous, three dimensional solid materials consisting of interconnected network of nanoscale carbon particles. Due to their unique network structure, low density and high surface area, carbon aerogels are promising materials as thermal and acoustic insulators, adsorbents, filters, catalyst supports, desalination electrodes, and electrodes for hydrogen and energy storage. Current methods to produce organic aerogels and their carbon derivatives includes using resorcinol or phenol as phenolic precursors and formaldehyde as crosslinking reagent, but they are non-renewable, toxic and expensive. Lignin, as a renewable aromatic biopolymer with high carbon content and chemical functionality, is a sustainable abundant resource for carbon aerogel production. In this study, softwood kraft lignin isolated by LignoBoost<sup>TM</sup> process was used to produce lignin-based gels under mild conditions through sol-gel chemistry with various crosslinking strategies. The effects of processing conditions, lignin content and crosslinking density on gelation kinetics and chemical and physical properties of resulting gels were investigated. Rigid carbon aerogels were prepared by controlled removal of liquid phase from lignin gels with supercritical drying, and a final pyrolysis step. Carbon electrodes assembled from these aerogels were characterized with cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Electrochemical tests showed that lignin carbon aerogels are promising candidates for energy storage applications such as supercapacitor electrodes.

Carbon aerogels from Biochoice<sup>TM </sup>kraft lignin for production of supercapacitor electrodes

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.

Carbon aerogels from BiochoiceTM kraft lignin for production of supercapacitor electrodes

Carbon aerogels from Biochoice^TMkraft lignin for production of supercapacitor electrodes