Bifunctional 3D n-doped porous carbon materials derived from paper towel for oxygen reduction reaction and supercapacitor

Abstract

a b s t r a c tDesigning and fabricating cheap and active bifunctional materials is crucial for the development of renewable energy technologies. In this article, three-dimensional nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials (NDPC-X, in which X represents the pyrolysis temperature) were fabricated by simultaneous carbonization and activation of polypyrrole-coated paper towel protected by a silica layer followed by acid etching. The material had a high specific surface area (1,123.40 m 2 /g). The as-obtained NDPC-900 displayed outstanding activity as a catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as well as an electrode with a high specific capacitance in a supercapacitor in an alkaline medium. The NDPC-900 catalyst for the ORR exhibited a more positive reduction peak potential of À0.068 V (vs. Hg|HgCl 2 ) than that of Pt/ C (À0.121 V), as well as better cycling stability and stronger methanol tolerance. Moreover, the NDPC-900 had a high specific capacitance of 379.50 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, with a retention rate of 94.5% after 10,000 cycles in 6 mol/L KOH electrolyte when used as an electrode in a supercapacitor. All these results were attributed to the effect of a large surface area, which provided electrochemically active sites. This work introduces an effective way to use biomass-derived materials for the synthesis of promising bifunctional carbon material for electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices.

Macroscopic synthesis of ultrafine N–doped carbon nanofibers for superior capacitive energy storage

“…3f) presents four peaks at 405.7, 401.4, 399.8, and 398.9 eV, corresponding to the pyridine NAO moieties, quaternary N, pyrrolic N, and pyridinic N, respectively [37]. The pyridinic and pyrrolic N, which are believed to be electrochemically active [38], account for 88% of total N in activated N-CNFs.…”

Cu-MOF derived Cu–C nanocomposites towards high performance electrochemical supercapacitors

“…However, there are fewer types of anodes, and the usual reports are porous carbons and ferric oxide. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] Ferric oxide usually has poor electrical conductivity and needs to be combined with carbon materials, leading to reduction of its capacitance. Therefore, it is challenging to develop new anode materials with good conductivity and high capacitance.…”

Electrospun Inorganic Nanofibers for Oxygen Electrocatalysis: Design, Fabrication, and Progress

“…[82] Recent advances claimed that the electroneutrality break of carbon atoms and electron transfer induced by the N doping contributed to the activation of adsorbed O 2 molecules, thus promoting electrocatalytic activity. [83,84] N doping is a facile and effective method to modify the microstructure, electronic structure, and conductivity of ECNFs. Additionally, the overall activity of electrocatalysts is also impacted by their surface functional group and structural defects (e.g., edge and defective sites), which is strongly associated to intrinsic electronic structure.…”