Controllable synthesis and capacitive performance of nitrogen-doped porous carbon from carboxymethyl chitosan by template carbonization method

Pyridinic-nitrogen highly doped nanotubular carbon arrays grown on a carbon cloth for high-performance and flexible supercapacitors

Pyridinic-nitrogen highly doped nanotubular carbon (NTC) arrays with multimodal pores in the wall were synthesized via a one-step template strategy using 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) as both carbon and nitrogen precursors and ZnO nanowire (ZnO NW) arrays grown on carbon clothes as templates for high-performance supercapacitors (SCs). A strikingly high N-doping level of 14.3% and pyridine N (N-6) dominance as high as 69.1% of the total N content were achieved. Both the N content and N configuration can be well tailored by adjusting the carbonization temperatures of TATB. When directly applied as flexible SCs, the N-doped NTC yields a high specific capacitance of 310.7 F g^-1 (0.8 A g^-1), a cycling retention ratio of 105.1% after 20 000 charge-discharge cycles, and excellent capacitance retention rates of 93.6%, 74.2%, and 53.6% at 8 A g^-1, 40 A g^-1, and 80 A g^-1, respectively, as compared to the value at 0.8 g^-1. TATB, as the only precursor of C and N, is expected to be of great significance for the further design and synthesis of N-doped sp² carbon nanostructures with selective N configurations and controlled N content.

Shell Biorefinery: Dream or Reality?

Shell biorefinery, referring to the fractionation of crustacean shells into their major components and the transformation of each component into value-added chemicals and materials, has attracted growing attention in recent years. Since the large quantities of waste shells remain underexploited, their valorization can potentially bring both ecological and economic benefits. This Review provides an overview of the current status of shell biorefinery. It first describes the structural features of crustacean shells, including their composition and their interactions. Then, various fractionation methods for the shells are introduced. The last section is dedicated to the valorization of chitin and its derivatives for chemicals, porous carbon materials and functional polymers.

A new strategy of spray pyrolysis to prepare porous carbon nanosheets with enhanced ionic sorption capacity

We developed a new synthetic strategy to control the microstructure of carbon particles via ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. Porous carbon nanosheets with high ion-sorption capacitance were prepared by the one-pot spray pyrolysis process.