Large scale production of biomass-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials for supercapacitors. (1st July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wei, Tongye; Wei, Xiaolin; Gao, Yong; Li, Huaming
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 169(2015)
• Page Start: 186
• Page End: 194
• Publication Date: 2015-07-01
• Subjects: porous carbon -- broussonetia papyrifera -- bark -- supercapacitor -- biomass; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2015.04.082
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: BP bark-derived, N-doped porous carbon (BPC) was fabricated for supercapacitors. BPC was prepared by hydrothermal treatment followed by pyrolysis and activation. The electrochemical tests exhibited a high specific capacitance of 320 F g −1 . Retention of 94% of its initial capacitance was achieved after 10000 cycles. Abstract: In this work, we present a facile approach to synthesize nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials via a two-step fabrication process using the stem bark of broussonetia papyrifera (BP) as the biomass precursor. Firstly, the BP stem bark is hydrothermally treated in a KOH aqueous solution. After filtration and drying, the hydrothermal product is directly subjected to simultaneous pyrolysis and activation, giving nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials. The morphology, structure and textural properties of the carbon materials are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N2 sorption isotherms, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The obtained porous carbon exhibits a high BET surface area of 1212 m 2 g −1 and an average pore size of 3.8 nm. Such porous carbon shows outstanding capacitive performance (320 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 ), good rate capacitive behavior, and excellent cycling stability due to the synergistic effect of N, O-doped species, indicating a great potential for supercapacitors.