Ultraporous nitrogen-doped zeolite-templated carbon for high power density aqueous-based supercapacitors

Abstract

Two zeolite templated carbons (ZTC) with comparable structure and different surface chemistry have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition of different precursors, producing a non-doped and a N-doped carbon material (4 at. % XPS) in which most of the functionalities are quaternary N. A larger specific capacitance (farads per surface area) has been measured in acid electrolyte for the N-doped ZTC, that can be related to an improved wettability due to the presence of nitrogen and oxygen. The capacitance of N-doped ZTC is lower in alkaline electrolyte, probably due to the loss of electrochemical activity of certain oxygen functionalities. Interestingly, the electro-oxidation process of N-ZTC implies lower irreversible currents (providing higher electrochemical stability) than for ZTC. The presence of quaternary nitrogen greatly improves the electric conductivity of N-ZTC, which shows a superior rate performance. ZTC and N-ZTC capacitors were constructed using 1M H2SO4. Under the same conditions, N-doped ZTC based capacitor has higher energy density, 6.7 vs 5.9 W h/kg. The power density of N-ZTC is four times higher, producing an outstanding maximum power of 98 kW/kg. These results provide clear evidences of the advantages of doping advanced porous carbon materials with nitrogen functionalities.

Flat-shaped carbon–graphene microcomposites as electrodes for high energy supercapacitors

“…Hence, the incorporation of heteroatoms into the carbon surface/lattice can modify the electronic properties of porous carbon materials, improving their electronic conductivity and at the same time promoting the generation of functional groups that may undergo fast redox reactions, thus providing a pseudocapacitive contribution to the overall capacitance. 14 The functionalization of carbon materials with several heteroatoms (oxygen, 15 nitrogen, 16 boron, 17 or sulfur 18 ) has been extensively explored but scarce reports are available on phosphorus-functionalized porous carbon materials, which calls for future research on this heteroatom. 19 Phosphorus rich carbons have also been demonstrated to increase the capacitance due to pseudocapacitive processes, even if the mechanisms behind this behavior are not completely understood yet.…”

Revival of Zeolite‐Templated Nanocarbon Materials: Recent Advances in Energy Storage and Conversion

“…Zeolite-templated nanocarbons possess sufficient electrical conductivity and excellent microporosity, which endow them tremendous potential as electrode materials in supercapacitors. [73,[75][76][77][78][79][84][85][86]89,90,99,100,142,149,[261][262][263][264][265][266][267] Herein, zeolitetemplated nanocarbon-based supercapacitors are summarized from the aspects of EDLCs, pseudocapacitors, and asymmetric supercapacitors.…”

“…storage materials and electrocatalysts: more specifically, high specific surface area is beneficial for gas adsorption [73] and improvement of double layer capacitance; [55,[74][75][76][77][78][79] the zeolite-templated carbon frameworks with high conductivity are also suitable candidates as electrode materials [55,73,74,77,[79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90] and promising scaffolds for electrocatalysts; [81,[91][92][93][94][95][96] hierarchically ordered porosity can enhance mass transfer without pore blockage, [78,91,[97][98][99] which has already been employed as the host of active materials in electrode; [83,85,100] plus ultrafine nanostructures anchored on zeolite-templated nanocarbons, enhanced electrocatalytic performance can be implemented by synergic effect of nanocarbons and metal nanostructures. [81,91] The definition of nanocarbons was proposed by Inagaki et al, [101,102] which contemplates not only the control of size but also the control of struct...…”

“…It is becoming urgent topic for scientists to explore environmentally benign energy storage devices [ 66–70 ] and look for renewable alternatives of traditional fuels. [ 71,72 ] Zeolite‐templated nanocarbons (ZTNCs), possessing remarkable mechanical, optical, electrical, and catalytic properties, endow them enormous potential as energy storage materials and electrocatalysts: more specifically, high specific surface area is beneficial for gas adsorption [ 73 ] and improvement of double layer capacitance; [ 55,74–79 ] the zeolite‐templated carbon frameworks with high conductivity are also suitable candidates as electrode materials [ 55,73,74,77,79–90 ] and promising scaffolds for electrocatalysts; [ 81,91–96 ] hierarchically ordered porosity can enhance mass transfer without pore blockage, [ 78,91,97–99 ] which has already been employed as the host of active materials in electrode; [ 83,85,100 ] plus ultrafine nanostructures anchored on zeolite‐templated nanocarbons, enhanced electrocatalytic performance can be implemented by synergic effect of nanocarbons and metal nanostructures. [ 81,91 ]…”

Biomass‐derived Nitrogen and Phosphorus Co‐doped Hierarchical Micro/mesoporous Carbon Materials for High‐performance Non‐enzymatic H2O2 Sensing

“…The carbon‐based materials doped with heteroatoms (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and boron) are of importance because of their potential applications for energy storage, sensing, catalysis, adsorption, separation, and so on . It is believed that incorporation of heteroatoms into the carbon lattice of porous carbon materials can significantly promote their performances, due to the combing outstanding features of porous structure and tuning structures by introduction of heteroatoms . Up to now, numerous strategies have been successfully developed to prepare mesoporous or microporous carbon materials doped with heteroatoms, including soft‐template method , hard‐template method , chemical vapor deposition , thermal treatment of metal‐organic framework , conducting polymers , or covalent organic polymer .…”