Synthesis of MnO2/N-doped ultramicroporous carbon nanospheres for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

We demonstrate a simple and highly efficient strategy to synthesize MnO2/nitrogen-doped ultra-microporous carbon nanospheres (MnO2/N-UCNs) for supercapacitor application. MnO2/N-UCNs were fabricated via a template-free polymerization of resorcinol/formaldehyde on the surface of phloroglucinol/terephthalaldehyde colloids in the presence of hexamethylenetetramine, followed by carbonization and then a redox reaction between carbons and KMnO4. As-prepared MnO2/N-UCNs exhibits regular ultramicropores, high surface area, nitrogen heteroatom, and high content of MnO2. A typical MnO2/N-UCNs with 57 wt.% MnO2 doping content (denoted as MnO2(57%)/N-UCNs) makes the most use of the synergistic effect between carbons and metal oxides. MnO2(57%)/N-UCNs as a supercapacitor electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance such as a high specific capacitance (401 Fig at 1.0 A/g) and excellent charge/discharge stability (86.3% of the initial capacitance after 10,000 cycles at 2.0 A/g) in 1.0 mol/L Na2SO4 electrolyte. The well-designed and high-performance MnO2/N-UCNs highlight the great potential for advanced supercapacitor applications. (C) 2017 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.