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Vol. 12 (2020)

Hierarchical N-Doped Porous Carbons for Zn–Air Batteries and Supercapacitors

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0364-z
Beibei Guo
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Ruguang Ma
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Zichuang Li
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Zichuang Li
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Shaokui Guo
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Jun Luo
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, People’s Republic of China
Minghui Yang
Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China
Qian Liu
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China
Tiju Thomas
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Adyar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600036, India
Jiacheng Wang
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Jiacheng Wang

jiacheng.wang@mail.sic.ac.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 12 (2020), Article Number: 20

Abstract

Nitrogen-doped carbon materials with a large specific surface area, high conductivity, and adjustable microstructures have many prospects for energy-related applications. This is especially true for N-doped nanocarbons used in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and supercapacitors. Here, we report a low-cost, environmentally friendly, large-scale mechanochemical method of preparing N-doped porous carbons (NPCs) with hierarchical micro-mesopores and a large surface area via ball-milling polymerization followed by pyrolysis. The optimized NPC prepared at 1000 °C (NPC-1000) offers excellent ORR activity with an onset potential (Eonset) and half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.9 and 0.82 V, respectively (vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode), which are only approximately 30 mV lower than that of Pt/C. The rechargeable Zn–air battery assembled using NPC-1000 and the NiFe-layered double hydroxide as bifunctional ORR and oxygen evolution reaction electrodes offered superior cycling stability and comparable discharge performance to RuO2 and Pt/C. Moreover, the supercapacitor electrode equipped with NPC prepared at 800 °C exhibited a high specific capacity (431 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1), outstanding rate, performance, and excellent cycling stability in an aqueous 6-M KOH solution. This work demonstrates the potential of the mechanochemical preparation method of porous carbons, which are important for energy conversion and storage.


Highlights:


1 Hierarchical N-doped porous carbons (NPCs) with large surface area and controllable N-doping are synthesized by ball milling, followed by pyrolysis.
2 As a Zn–air battery cathode, NPCs have comparable discharge performance to precious metal catalysts and more stability.
3 NPCs also exhibit an excellent specific capacity and cycling stability when used as supercapacitor electrodes.

Keywords

Porous carbon Ball milling Nitrogen doping Oxygen reduction reaction Zn–air battery Supercapacitor
Guo, Beibei, Ruguang Ma, Zichuang Li, Zichuang Li, Shaokui Guo, Jun Luo, Minghui Yang, Qian Liu, Tiju Thomas, and Jiacheng Wang. 2020. “Hierarchical N-Doped Porous Carbons for Zn–Air Batteries and Supercapacitors”. Nano-Micro Letters 12 (January):20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0364-z.
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