Chapter 10 - Graphitic carbon nitride for supercapacitor

Abstract

Recently, the synthesis and development of graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) and its nanocomposites with tunable electrocatalytic behavior for various electrochemical applications has grown to be a new and major interdisciplinary research field. Owing to the unique physical and electrochemical properties, the 2D GCN is deliberated as an ideal object suitable for exploration of the exciting electrochemical performances for supercapacitors (SCs). The GCN has a stable layered structure containing only carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) with a ratio of 3:4. However, the limited edge N atoms and less intrinsic electronic conductivity restrict its performance of SCs. Thus, various engineering strategies have been developed to improve both the electrocatalytic activity and electronic conductivity of GCN, including copolymerization, preoxidation, surface functionalization, porous, doping (S, B, O, and P) creation, and integration of conductive carbon nanomaterials. This account stresses on the application of GCN in SC devices, introducing briefly the 2D layered GCN, and different criteria and strategies to improve the electrochemical properties of GCN for supercapacitor devices. Based on these, the recent advanced researches on GCN are summarized. We believe this chapter can offer a profound understanding of the GCN and its application for energy storage.