Synergistic effect of nitrogen and oxygen dopants in 3D hierarchical porous carbon cathodes for ultra-fast zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors

Fuwang Wen; Yuan Yan; Shirong Sun; Xu Li; Xing He; Qingwei Meng; Jefferson Zhe Liu; Xueqing Qiu; Wenli Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.024

Synergistic effect of nitrogen and oxygen dopants in 3D hierarchical porous carbon cathodes for ultra-fast zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jun 15:640:1029-1039. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.024. Epub 2023 Mar 8.

Authors

Fuwang Wen¹, Yuan Yan², Shirong Sun³, Xu Li¹, Xing He¹, Qingwei Meng¹, Jefferson Zhe Liu⁴, Xueqing Qiu⁵, Wenli Zhang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Biorefinery, School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT), 100 Waihuan Xi Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
³ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Biorefinery, School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT), 100 Waihuan Xi Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China; Jieyang Branch of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Rongjiang Laboratory), Jieyang 515200, China. Electronic address: shirongsun@gdut.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. Electronic address: zhe.liu@unimelb.edu.au.
⁵ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Biorefinery, School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT), 100 Waihuan Xi Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China; Jieyang Branch of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Rongjiang Laboratory), Jieyang 515200, China.
⁶ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Biorefinery, School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT), 100 Waihuan Xi Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China; Jieyang Branch of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Rongjiang Laboratory), Jieyang 515200, China; Research Institute of Green Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, School of Advanced Manufacturing, Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT), Jieyang, Jieyang 515200, China. Electronic address: wlzhang@gdut.edu.cn.

PMID: 36913835
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.024

Abstract

Zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitor is one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage devices for the applications needing both high energy densities and power densities. Nitrogen doping is an effective way to enhance the capacitive performance of porous carbon cathodes in zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitor. However, accurate evidence is yet needed to demonstrate how nitrogen dopants influence the charge storage of Zn²⁺ and H⁺ cations. Herein, we prepared 3D interconnected hierarchical porous carbon nanosheets by a one-step explosion method. The effect of nitrogen dopants on pseudocapacitance was analyzed by the electrochemical behaviors of as-prepared porous carbon samples with similar morphology and pore structure but different nitrogen and oxygen doping levels. Ex-situ XPS and DFT calculation demonstrate that nitrogen dopants promote the pseudocapacitive reactions by lowering the energy barrier for the change of oxidation states of carbonyl moieties. Owing to the improved pseudocapacitance by nitrogen/oxygen dopants and fast diffusion of Zn²⁺ ions in 3D interconnected hierarchical porous carbon matrix, the as-constructed ZIHCs show both high gravimetric capacitance (301 F g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1) and excellent rate capability (a capacitance retention of 30% at 200 A g^-1).

Keywords: Nitrogen dopants; Porous carbon nanosheets; Power density; Zinc ion hybrid supercapacitors.