Chemical crosslinking engineered nitrogen-doped carbon aerogels from polyaniline-boric acid-polyvinyl alcohol gels for high-performance electrochemical capacitors

The hierarchically porous nitrogen-doped polyaniline-boric acid-polyvinyl alcohol (PBP) carbon aerogels (PBP/CAs) are synthesized through chemical crosslinking engineered and KOH activation processes. The optimal sample with a high BET surface area of 2675 m(2) g(-1), a wide micropore and mesopores size distribution (0.5e4 nm), in-situ nitrogen-doping (0.50%) and surface hydrophilicity (contact angle is 12.9 degrees), exhibits a high specific capacitance of 497 F g(-1) in 1 mol L-1 H2SO4 and 400 F g(-1) in 6 mol L-1 KOH at a current density of 1 A g(-1), and delivers excellent cycling stability with the capacitance retention of 92.80% and 90.71% after 10000 cycles at 30 A g(-1), respectively. And it also reveals a high energy density of 12.60 Wh Kg(-1) and 11.05 Wh Kg(-1) in acid and alkaline electrolytes, respectively. More significantly, the assembled capacitors can be directly applied to degrade azo dye of 4-aminoazobenzene. Our work not only highlights the advantages of one-pot chemical crosslinking route to prepare nitrogen-doped PBP/CAs under ambient condition (e.g. room temperature, cost-effective raw materials, timesaving and routine equipment et al.), but also offers competitive electrodes for high-performance pHuniversal electrochemical double-layer capacitor with a potential broad application in energy conversion devices. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.