Hierarchical porous N-doped carbon xerogels for high performance CO2 capture and supercapacitor

Novel microporous carbon xerogels (CX-HMTAs) with different morphologies and well-developed porosity were successfully fabricated. The hierarchical pore, surface structure, and nitrogen content could be easily controlled by adjusting the amount of hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA). The samples as-obtained exhibited high micropore volume and large specific surface area, which were applied as supercapacitor electrodes and CO2 capture materials. The CX-HMTA4 with a moderate concentration of HMTA (0.72 %) afforded the highest CO2 adsorption capability with 4.21 mmol g-1 at 273 K and 1 bar, and excellent ideal adsorption solution theory (IAST) selectivity with 70 for CO2/N2 capture at 298 K. Moreover, the CX-HMTA4 were simultaneously conducted as a supercapacitor electrode, and gave a maximum specific capacitance of 161 F g-1 and high stability (retained 99.4 % capacity after 1000 cycles) in 6 M KOH electrolyte at 1 A g-1, showed a great advance when compared with most reported benchmark carbon materials. The multifunctional porous carbon materials presented herein were facilely prepared without any activation, exhibiting considerable potentials for large-scale gas adsorption/separation and electrochemical energy storage.

Automated summary

The novel microporous carbon xerogels (CX-HMTAs) with different morphologies and well-developed porosity were successfully fabricated. The samples exhibited high micropore volume and large specific surface area, which were applied as supercapacitor electrodes and CO2 capture materials. The multifunctional porous carbon materials presented herein were facilely prepared without any activation, exhibiting considerable potentials for large-scale gas adsorption/separation and electrochemical energy storage.