Synthesis and electrochemical performance of porous carbons by carbonization of self-assembled polymer bricks

Highly porous nitrogen-doped carbon superstructures derived from the intramolecular cyclization-induced crystallization-driven self-assembly of poly(amic acid)

Hierarchically porous carbon nanomaterials have shown significant potential in electrochemical energy storage due to the promoted charge and mass transfer. Herein, a facile template-free method is proposed to prepare nitrogen-doped carbon superstructures (N-CSs) with multi-level pores by pyrolysis of polymeric precursors derived from the intramolecular cyclization-induced crystallization-driven self-assembly (ICI-CDSA) of poly(amic acid) (PAA). The excellent thermal stability of PAA enables the N-CSs to inherit the hierarchical structure of the precursors during pyrolysis, which facilitates the formation of meso- and macropores while the decomposition of the precursors promotes the creation of micropores. Electrochemical tests demonstrate the ultrahigh surface-area-normalized capacitance (76.5 μF cm-2) of the N-CSs facilitated by the hierarchically porous structure, promoting the charge and mass transfer, as well as the high utilization of pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen (12.9%) to provide significant pseudocapacitance contribution up to 40.6%. Considering the diversity of monomers of PAA, this ICI-CDSA strategy could be extended to prepare carbon nanomaterials with various morphologies, pore structures and chemical compositions.

Metal–organic frameworks based on halogen-bridged dinuclear-Cu-nodes as promising materials for high performance supercapacitor electrodes

Two halogen-bridged di-nuclear Cu-based 3D porous frameworks present high specific capacitance and good cycling stability.

Simultaneously obtaining fluorescent carbon dots and porous active carbon for supercapacitors from biomass

We present a facile and green approach to simultaneously synthesize fluorescent carbon dots and porous active carbon for supercapacitors via a two-step carbonization process from a widely available protein-rich biomass precursor – soybeans.