Sol-gel process-derived rich nitrogen-doped porous carbon through KOH activation for supercapacitors

A rich nitrogen-doped porous carbon with high specific surface area and superior specific capacitance for supercapacitors is synthesized from poly(acrylic acid)/methylated melamine-formaldehyde resin through sol-gel process at ambient temperature for 24 hrs, followed by calcination and carbonization at 350 degrees C and 500 degrees C for 1 hour respectively and KOH activation at 700 degrees C for 2 hours under N2 atmosphere. The porosity and surface chemistry of the rich nitrogen-doped porous carbon are swiftly manipulated by KOH activation, with the specific surface area increasing from 14.2 to 2674m(2) g(-1) and nitrogen content varying from 20.3 to 8.8 by wt.%, respectively. The porous morphology and nitrogen functionalities enable the nitrogen-doped porous carbon to perform an intriguing electrochemical performance in 1M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte, such as a superior specific capacitance at the current density of 0.2 A g(-1) (280 F g(-1)), excellent rate capability (171 F g(-1) remained at 10 A g(-1)) and outstanding cycling durability (no capacity decay after 9000 cycles), which make it a promising electrode material for high performance supercapacitors. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.