Recent Advances on Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbons Towards Electrochemical Supercapacitor Applications

Hafiza Komal Zafar; Sara Zainab; Maria Masood; Manzar Sohail; Syed Shoaib Ahmad Shah; Mohammad R Karim; Anthony O'Mullane; Kostya Ken Ostrikov; Geoffrey Will; Md A Wahab

doi:10.1002/tcr.202300161

Recent Advances on Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbons Towards Electrochemical Supercapacitor Applications

Chem Rec. 2024 Jan;24(1):e202300161. doi: 10.1002/tcr.202300161. Epub 2023 Aug 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology, H-12, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.
² Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), College of Engineering, King Saud University, P. O. Box 800, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia.
³ K.A. CARE Energy Research and Innovation Center, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ School of Chemistry and Physics and Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
⁵ Energy and Process Engineering Laboratory, School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.

PMID: 37582638
DOI: 10.1002/tcr.202300161

Abstract

Due to ever-increasing global energy demands and dwindling resources, there is a growing need to develop materials that can fulfil the World's pressing energy requirements. Electrochemical energy storage devices have gained significant interest due to their exceptional storage properties, where the electrode material is a crucial determinant of device performance. Hence, it is essential to develop 3-D hierarchical materials at low cost with precisely controlled porosity and composition to achieve high energy storage capabilities. After presenting the brief updates on porous carbons (PCs), then this review will focus on the nitrogen (N) doped porous carbon materials (NPC) for electrochemical supercapacitors as the NPCs play a vital role in supercapacitor applications in the field of energy storage. Therefore, this review highlights recent advances in NPCs, including developments in the synthesis of NPCs that have created new methods for controlling their morphology, composition, and pore structure, which can significantly enhance their electrochemical performance. The investigated N-doped materials a wide range of specific surface areas, ranging from 181.5 to 3709 m² g^-1 , signifies a substantial increase in the available electrochemically active surface area, which is crucial for efficient energy storage. Moreover, these materials display notable specific capacitance values, ranging from 58.7 to 754.4 F g^-1 , highlighting their remarkable capability to effectively store electrical energy. The outstanding electrochemical performance of these materials is attributed to the synergy between heteroatoms, particularly N, and the carbon framework in N-doped porous carbons. This synergy brings about several beneficial effects including, enhanced pseudo-capacitance, improved electrical conductivity, and increased electrochemically active surface area. As a result, these materials emerge as promising candidates for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. The challenges and outlook in NPCs for supercapacitor applications are also presented. Overall, this review will provide valuable insights for researchers in electrochemical energy storage and offers a basis for fabricating highly effective and feasible supercapacitor electrodes.

Keywords: Energy Storage; N-doped Carbon; Porous Carbon; Supercapacitor.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding