Carbon Onions: Synthesis and Electrochemical Applications

Onion-like carbon (OLC) structures have been synthesized in many ways and large scale production is under study nowadays. The annealing method can satisfy the need for large scale production, though the ideal spherical shape is unachievable, and the temperature attainable in this method is not sufficient for treating the entire particle. The arc-discharge method provides an alternate pathway toward large scale synthesis. Due to its structure and electrochemical properties, carbon onions can be used as materials for electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC) and can be used to store energy across a much wider temperature range, which gives these materials advantages over conventional EDLCs. This and other aspects of carbon onions are discussed in this article.