Three-Dimensional Nitrogen-Doped Hierarchical Porous Carbon as an Electrode for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Critical role of Photo-electrode with Ce-g-C3N4 in multi-stage microbial fuel cells cascade reactor treating diluted hyper-saline industrial wastewater rich in amines

Treatment of chemical industrial wastewater often faces problems of large volume occupation, high cost, and long processing time. In this study, low-content Ce-modified g-C₃N₄ was prepared and used as a catalyst on stainless steel mesh photo-cathode in constructing a multi-stage cascade microbial fuel cell system to reduce treatment costs in an energy-saving way. The large specific surface area (332.5 m² g^-1) and mesoporous structure of the material, is favorable for catalytic reactions, in which Ce elements were mainly present in single atoms. The characterized catalyst indicated a pronounced effect of Ce species in increasing photo-current and the synergistic pollutant removal, microbial bio-degradation and cascade operation stability. In Batch-mode (light illumination, aeration, total HRT (hydraulic residence time) of 54 h) treatment through three cascade reactors, removed 88% COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand). With 0.5 mM PMS (peroxymonosulfate), 94% COD and 86% NH₄⁺-N of the system were removed. The cascade net average COD removal capacity reached 16.04 kg per kg catalyst per day. The addition of PMS also enhanced the electricity generation. In continuous-mode, in totally 18 h treatment through the three-stages cascade reactors without PMS, overall, 83% COD and 78% TOC (Total Organic Carbon) were removed, reaching a net calculated system average COD removal capacity of 19.29 kg per kg catalyst per day. With Ce-g-C₃N₄ catalyst, the batch or continuous multi-stage cascade system demonstrated great technical flexibility and economic potential in treating high-strength, high-salinity amine-rich industrial wastewater.

Self assembled three dimensional β-Cu2V2O7 hierarchical flower decorated porous carbon: An efficient electrocatalyst for flutamide detection in biological and environmental samples

The serious situation mandates the use of anticancer drugs, which protect people all over the world from the growth of prostate cancer. In particular, excessive dosage and erroneous discharge of flutamide concentration cause make environmental pollution on the surface of the wastewater. In this study, the highly sensitive and selective electrochemical approach based on copper vanadium oxide decorated porous carbon (denoted as β-Cu₂V₂O₇/PC) composite modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) has been developed and it was applied for sensitive detection of anticancer drug flutamide (FTM). Moreover, using the co-precipitation method, the flower-like β-Cu₂V₂O₇ hierarchical microstructure was synthesized, and through the wet chemical process, the β-Cu₂V₂O₇/PC composite was obtained. The resultant product was characterized by XRD, FTIR, RAMAN, XPS and structural morphology established by FESEM analysis. Besides that, the electrochemical characterization and properties were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometric (i-t) techniques. The β-Cu₂V₂O₇/PC/RDGCE had two linear ranges at 0.01-2.11 μM and 2.31-30.81 μM. The lower limits of detection and sensitivity were found at 0.62 nM (S/N = 3), and 24.33 μA μM^-1 cm^-2 respectively. The practicability test was applied for the determination of FTM in urine, blood serum and environmental aquatic fluid with satisfactory recovery obtained.

Ultrastable Covalent Triazine Organic Framework Based on Anthracene Moiety as Platform for High-Performance Carbon Dioxide Adsorption and Supercapacitors

Conductive and porous nitrogen-rich materials have great potential as supercapacitor electrode materials. The exceptional efficiency of such compounds, however, is dependent on their larger surface area and the level of nitrogen doping. To address these issues, we synthesized a porous covalent triazine framework (An-CTFs) based on 9,10-dicyanoanthracene (An-CN) units through an ionothermal reaction in the presence of different molar ratios of molten zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) at 400 and 500 °C, yielding An-CTF-10-400, An-CTF-20-400, An-CTF-10-500, and An-CTF-20-500 microporous materials. According to N₂ adsorption–desorption analyses (BET), these An-CTFs produced exceptionally high specific surface areas ranging from 406–751 m²·g⁻¹. Furthermore, An-CTF-10-500 had a capacitance of 589 F·g⁻¹, remarkable cycle stability up to 5000 cycles, up to 95% capacity retention, and strong CO₂ adsorption capacity up to 5.65 mmol·g⁻¹ at 273 K. As a result, our An-CTFs are a good alternative for both electrochemical energy storage and CO₂ uptake.

A facile mechanochemical preparation of Co3O4@g-C3N4 for application in supercapacitors and degradation of pollutants in water

Our study is aimed at synthesizing cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) with graphite carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) to form a Co₃O₄@g-C₃N₄ hybrid through a green mechanochemical one-pot synthetic approach for manufacturing efficient supercapacitor electrodes and photocatalysts. In the present study, the Co₃O₄@g-C₃N₄ hybrid revealed a significantly higher specific capacitance (C_s) (of ~ 457.2 Fg^-1 at a current density of 1 Ag^-1) than that of the pristine Co₃O_4, which proved its pseudocapacitive behavior, with a couple of redox peaks observed in three electrode measurements (obtained by using a 3.0-M KOH aqueous electrolyte). The optimized Co₃O₄@g-C₃N₄ hybrid was further embedded for a symmetric supercapacitor performance, delivering an excellent Cs of ~ 92 Fg^-1 at a current density of 1 Ag^-1; this was supplemented with a remarkable cycling stability (~ 92% over 5000 cycles). The Co₃O₄@g-C₃N₄ hybrid was further examined for photocatalysis activity using a rhodamine B (RhB) dye, and more than 95% RhB dye was degraded through the photocatalytic reduction process (after 60 min of UV irradiation). This Co₃O₄@g-C₃N₄ hybrid catalyst exhibited excellent reusability and stability and appears to be a highly efficient, cost-effective, eco-friendly, and reusable catalyst; the g-C₃N₄ present with the Co₃O₄ acted as a conductive nano-network, leading to a higher capacitive and photocatalytic performance.

Meso/Microporous Carbons from Conjugated Hyper-Crosslinked Polymers Based on Tetraphenylethene for High-Performance CO2 Capture and Supercapacitor

In this study, we successfully synthesized two types of meso/microporous carbon materials through the carbonization and potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation for two different kinds of hyper-crosslinked polymers of TPE-CPOP1 and TPE-CPOP2, which were synthesized by using Friedel–Crafts reaction of tetraphenylethene (TPE) monomer with or without cyanuric chloride in the presence of AlCl₃ as a catalyst. The resultant porous carbon materials exhibited the high specific area (up to 1100 m² g⁻¹), total pore volume, good thermal stability, and amorphous character based on thermogravimetric (TGA), N₂ adsoprtion/desorption, and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analyses. The as-prepared TPE-CPOP1 after thermal treatment at 800 °C (TPE-CPOP1-800) displayed excellent CO₂ uptake performance (1.74 mmol g⁻¹ at 298 K and 3.19 mmol g⁻¹ at 273 K). Furthermore, this material possesses a high specific capacitance of 453 F g⁻¹ at 5 mV s⁻¹ comparable to others porous carbon materials with excellent columbic efficiencies for 10,000 cycle at 20 A g⁻¹.

Direct Synthesis of Microporous Bicarbazole-Based Covalent Triazine Frameworks for High-Performance Energy Storage and Carbon Dioxide Uptake

In this study a series of bicarbazole-based covalent triazine frameworks (Car-CTFs) were synthesized under ionothermal conditions from [9,9'-bicarbazole]-3,3',6,6'-tetracarbonitrile (Car-4CN) in the presence of molten zinc chloride. Thermogravimetric and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analyses revealed that these Car-CTFs possessed excellent thermal stabilities and high specific surface areas (ca. 1400 m² /g). The electrochemical performances of this Car-CTF series, investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, showed a highest capacitance of (545 F/g at 5 mV/s), which also exhibited excellent columbic efficiencies of 96.1 % after 8000 cycles at 100 μA/0.5 cm² . The other Car-CTF samples displayed similar efficiencies. Furthermore, based on CO₂ uptake measurements, one of the series showed the highest CO₂ uptake capacities: 3.91 and 7.60 mmol/g at 298 and 273 K, respectively. These results suggest a simple method for the preparation of CTF materials that provide excellent electrochemical and CO₂ uptake performance.

Interface Heteroatom-doping: Emerging Solutions to Silicon-based Anodes

Silicon-based composites have been recognized as a promising anode material for high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the intrinsically low conductivity and the huge volume expansion during lithiation/delithiation progresses impede its further practical applications. In the past decades, numerous efforts have been made for surface and interface modification of Si-based anodes. Among these, doping of active materials with heteroatoms is one promising method to endow silicon many unmatched electrochemical properties. In this review, we focus on the effects of heteroatom doping on the interfacial properties of Si-based anodes, and some typical strategies for the interface doping are highlighted. We aim to give some reference for interfacial doping of Si-based anodes in LIBs.

Porous tal palm carbon nanosheets: preparation, characterization and application for the simultaneous determination of dopamine and uric acid

A novel porous tal palm carbon nanosheet (PTPCN) material was synthesized from the leaves of Borassus flabellifer (tal palm) and used for developing an electrochemical sensor through modifying a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) simply by drop-casting on it a solution of the material for the sensitive simultaneous detection of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA), even in the presence of interfering species. The drop-casting solution was prepared by simply dispersing the PTPCNs in ethanol without using any other binding materials (e.g. Nafion). The surface morphologies of the PTPCNs were studied through field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM (HRTEM). Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XPS) studies revealed the chemical composition of the PTPCNs' surface. Their structural properties were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis confirmed the surface area and pore volume to be 1094.53 m² g^-1 and 0.74 cm³ g^-1, respectively, while Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore-size distribution showed the average pore size to be 22 nm. The sufficiently large surface area and pore-size distribution suggested better electrocatalytic properties compared to the average modifying materials. The modified electrode (PTPCNs/GCE) was characterized through impedimetric and CV techniques in standard potassium ferricyanide solution for evaluating their charge-transfer resistance and electrochemical properties. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were 0.17 μM and 0.078 μM and the sensitivities were 1.2057 μA μM^-1 cm^-2 and 2.693 μA μM^-1 cm^-2 for UA and DA, respectively. The possible interactions that took place between the PTPCNs and the analytes that aided in the enhancement of the electroanalytical performance of the PTPCNs/GCE are discussed based on the experimental findings and established theoretical concepts. The PTPCNs/GCE was successfully employed for analyzing real samples, like dopamine injection and urine.

Fabrication of g-C3N4 Nanomesh-Anchored Amorphous NiCoP2O7: Tuned Cycling Life and the Dynamic Behavior of a Hybrid Capacitor

Developing a novel electrode material with better electrochemical behavior and extended cyclability is a major issue in the field of hybrid capacitors. In this work, we propose a novel strategy for the facile synthesis of nickel-cobalt pyrophosphate nanoparticles anchored on graphitic carbon nitride (NiCoP₂O₇/g-C₃N₄) via the simple solvothermal method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the uniform anchoring of NiCoP₂O₇ nanocomposite on g-C₃N₄ nanosheets. Benefitting from the effect of amorphous nature and a conductive matrix of the NiCoP₂O₇/g-C₃N₄ (NP3) composite, the material achieves a specific capacitance of 342 F g^-1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s^-1. Impressively, the electrode shows long-term cycling stability with 100% capacitance retention over 5000 cycles. Employing activated carbon as an anode and as-prepared NP3 as a cathode, the assembled asymmetric hybrid cell exhibits high-energy density and exceptional cyclability (specific capacitance retention over 10 000 cycles). The outstanding electrochemical and cyclic stability is attributed to the shortest electron-ion pathway with effective interfacial interaction. The low electronic resistance of the NiCoP₂O₇/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposite is revealed by varying the bias voltage variation in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Our results promise better utilization of the bimetallic pyrophosphate-anchored g-C₃N₄ matrix as a potential electrode for high-performance energy storage devices.

Recent advances in functionalized micro and mesoporous carbon materials: synthesis and applications

Functionalized nanoporous carbon materials have attracted the colossal interest of the materials science fraternity owing to their intriguing physical and chemical properties including a well-ordered porous structure, exemplary high specific surface areas, electronic and ionic conductivity, excellent accessibility to active sites, and enhanced mass transport and diffusion. These properties make them a special and unique choice for various applications in divergent fields such as energy storage batteries, supercapacitors, energy conversion fuel cells, adsorption/separation of bulky molecules, heterogeneous catalysts, catalyst supports, photocatalysis, carbon capture, gas storage, biomolecule detection, vapour sensing and drug delivery. Because of the anisotropic and synergistic effects arising from the heteroatom doping at the nanoscale, these novel materials show high potential especially in electrochemical applications such as batteries, supercapacitors and electrocatalysts for fuel cell applications and water electrolysis. In order to gain the optimal benefit, it is necessary to implement tailor made functionalities in the porous carbon surfaces as well as in the carbon skeleton through the comprehensive experimentation. These most appealing nanoporous carbon materials can be synthesized through the carbonization of high carbon containing molecular precursors by using soft or hard templating or non-templating pathways. This review encompasses the approaches and the wide range of methodologies that have been employed over the last five years in the preparation and functionalisation of nanoporous carbon materials via incorporation of metals, non-metal heteroatoms, multiple heteroatoms, and various surface functional groups that mostly dictate their place in a wide range of practical applications.

Three-dimensional carbon architectures for electrochemical capacitors

Three-dimensional (3D) carbon-based materials are emerging as promising electrode candidates for energy storage devices. In comparison to the 1D and 2D structures, 3D morphology offers new opportunities in rational design and synthesis of novel architectures tailor-made for promoting electrochemical performance. The capability of building hierarchical porous structures with 3D configuration can significantly advance the performance of energy storage devices by simultaneously enhancing the ion-accessible surface area and ion diffusion. This feature article presents an overview of recent progress in design, synthesis and implementation of 3D carbon-based materials as electrodes for electrochemical capacitors. Synthesis methodologies of four types of 3D carbon-based electrodes: 3D exfoliated carbon structures, 3D graphene scaffolds, 3D hierarchical porous carbon foams, as well as 3D architectures with periodic pores derived from direct ink writing, are thoroughly discussed and highlighted with selected experimental works. Finally, key opportunities and challenges in which different 3D carbons can significantly impact the energy storage and conversion communities will be provided.

Tailored Design of Bicontinuous Gyroid Mesoporous Carbon and Nitrogen-Doped Carbon from Poly(ethylene oxide-b-caprolactone) Diblock Copolymers

Highly ordered mesoporous resol-type phenolic resin and the corresponding mesoporous carbon materials were synthesized by using poly(ethylene oxide-b-caprolactone) (PEO-b-PCL) diblock copolymer as a soft template. The self-assembled mesoporous phenolic resin was found to form only in a specific resol concentration range of 40-70 wt % due to an intriguing balance of hydrogen-bonding interactions in the resol/PEO-b-PCL mixtures. Furthermore, morphological transitions of the mesostructures from disordered to gyroid to cylindrical and finally to disordered micelle structure were observed with increasing resol concentration. By calcination under nitrogen atmosphere at 800 °C, the bicontinuous mesostructured gyroid phenolic resin could be converted to mesoporous carbon with large pore size without collapse of the original mesostructure. Furthermore, post-treatment of the mesoporous gyroid phenolic resin with melamine gave rise to N-doped mesoporous carbon with unique electronic properties for realizing high CO₂ adsorption capacity (6.72 mmol g^-1 at 0 °C).

Activated Porous Carbon Spheres with Customized Mesopores through Assembly of Diblock Copolymers for Electrochemical Capacitor

A series of porous carbon spheres with precisely adjustable mesopores (4-16 nm), high specific surface area (SSA, ∼2000 m² g^-1), and submicrometer particle size (∼300 nm) was synthesized through a facile coassembly of diblock polymer micelles with a nontoxic dopamine source and a common postactivation process. The mesopore size can be controlled by the diblock polymer, polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) templates, and has an almost linear dependence on the square root of the degree of polymerization of the PS blocks. These advantageous structural properties make the product a promising electrode material for electrochemical capacitors. The electrochemical capacitive performance was studied carefully by using symmetrical cells in a typical organic electrolyte of 1 M tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate/acetonitrile (TEA BF₄/AN) or in an ionic liquid electrolyte of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIMBF₄), displaying a high specific capacitance of 111 and 170 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1, respectively. The impacts of pore size distribution on the capacitance performance were thoroughly investigated. It was revealed that large mesopores and a relatively low ratio of micropores are ideal for realizing high SSA-normalized capacitance. These results provide us with a simple and reliable way to screen future porous carbon materials for electrochemical capacitors and encourage researchers to design porous carbon with high specific surface area, large mesopores, and a moderate proportion of micropores.

Multiscale Pore Network Boosts Capacitance of Carbon Electrodes for Ultrafast Charging

Increasing charge storage capability during fast charging (at ultrahigh current densities) has been a long-standing challenge for supercapacitors. In this work, a novel porous carbon foam electrode with multiscale pore network is reported that achieves a remarkable gravimetric capacitance of 374.7 ± 7.7 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1. More importantly, it retains 235.9 ± 7.5 F g^-1 (60% of its capacitance at 1 A g^-1) at an ultrahigh current density of 500 A g^-1. Electron microscopy studies reveal that this carbon structure contains multiscale pores assembled in a hierarchical pattern. The outstanding capacitive performance benefits from its extremely large surface area of 2905 m² g^-1, as around 88% of the electric charges are stored via electrical double layer. Significantly, electrochemical analyses show that the hierarchical porous structure containing macro-, meso-, and micropores allows efficient ion diffusion and charge transfer, resulting in the excellent rate capability. The findings pave the way for improving rate capability of supercapacitors and enhancing their capacitances at ultrahigh current densities.

A New Triazine-Based Covalent Organic Framework for High-Performance Capacitive Energy Storage

The new covalent organic framework material TDFP-1 was prepared through a solvothermal Schiff base condensation reaction of the monomers 1,3,5-tris-(4-aminophenyl)triazine and 2,6-diformyl-4-methylphenol. Owing to its high specific surface area of 651 m²  g^-1 , extended π conjugation, and inherent microporosity, TDFP-1 exhibited an excellent energy-storage capacity with a maximum specific capacitance of 354 F g^-1 at a scan rate of 2 mV s^-1 and good cyclic stability with 95 % retention of its initial specific capacitance after 1000 cycles at 10 A g^-1 . The π-conjugated polymeric framework as well as ionic conductivity owing to the possibility of ion conduction inside the micropores of approximately 1.5 nm make polymeric TDFP-1 a favorable candidate as a supercapacitor electrode material. The electrochemical properties of this electrode material were measured through cyclic voltammetry, galvanic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the results indicate its potential for application in energy-storage devices.

Thin sandwich graphene oxide@N-doped carbon composites for high-performance supercapacitors

An ultrathin layer of ca. ∼1.9 nm N-doped carbon was deposited on GO via dehalogenation of PVDC.

Highly efficient electrocatalysts with CoO/CoFe2O4 composites embedded within N-doped porous carbon materials prepared by hard-template method for oxygen reduction reaction

Low-cost dual transition metal (Fe and Co) based non-noble metal electrocatalysts (NNMEs) with large surface area and porous structure boost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance in alkaline solution.

Electrochemical properties of a thermally expanded magnetic graphene composite with a conductive polymer

A magnetic graphene composite derived from stage-1 FeCl3-graphite intercalation compounds was thermally treated for up to 75 min at 400 °C or for 2 min at high temperatures up to 900 °C. These heat-treatments of the magnetic graphene composite gave rise to the cubical expansion of graphene with the enlargement of inter-graphene distances. The specific capacitance of the magnetic graphene composite increased upon heating and reached 42 F g(-1) at a scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) in 1.0 M NaCl, after being treated for 2 min at 900 °C. This value corresponds to 840% increase in the capacitance activity superior to that (5 F g(-1)) of the pristine magnetic graphene composite before heat-treatment. This capacitance enhancement can play a significant role in the increase of the surface area that reached 17.2 m(2) g(-1) during the non-defective inter-graphene exfoliation. Moreover, the magnetic graphene composite heated at 900 °C was hybridized with polyaniline by in situ polymerization of aniline to reach a specific capacitance of 253 F g(-1) at 5 mV s(-1). The current procedure of heat-treatment and hybridization with a conductive polymer can be an effective method for attaining a well-expanded magnetic graphene composite possessing an enhanced electrochemical activity with a relatively high energy density (141 W h kg(-1) in 1.0 M NaCl) and an excellent stability (99% after 9000 cycles of 20 A g(-1)).

Construction of 3D nanostructure hierarchical porous graphitic carbons by charge-induced self-assembly and nanocrystal-assisted catalytic graphitization for supercapacitors

A smart and sustainable strategy based on charge-induced self-assembly and nanocrystal-assisted catalytic graphitization is explored for the efficient construction of 3D nanostructure hierarchical porous graphitic carbons from the pectin biopolymer.

A novel approach for sulfur-doped hierarchically porous carbon with excellent capacitance for electrochemical energy storage

A novel approach was developed to accomplish S-doping and pore-creation simultaneously, leading to the formation of hierarchically porous S-doped carbon with enhanced capacitance.