Nitrogen-doped carbons derived from poly(ionic liquid)s with various backbones and cations

In this study, poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) with various backbone/cation pairings (backbones - ethyl methacrylate, styrene; covalently attached cations - butylimidazolium, trimethylammonium, butylpyrrolidinium) were successfully synthesized as carbon precursors. Pyrolysis of PILs produced carbons with sheet-like structures with a metallic luster in contrast to the powder form of carbons produced from polyacrylonitrile. The results also show that cation type has a significant impact on surface area, graphitic content, graphitic nitrogen content, nitrogen retention, carbon yield and surface chemistry of the PIL-derived carbons. The design of nitrogen-doped carbons based on a diverse set of PILs with various cation and polymer backbone chemistries may be an effective strategy to optimize carbon properties for subsequent application in energy storage devices. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industry