Chitosan derived N-doped carbon aerogel nanostructures for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

This study presented a chitosan-derived activated carbon aerogel material (ACAM), which was prepared via a sol–gel method, freeze-drying, and carbonization. The prepared nitrogen-doped carbon materials had nanopore structures with a highly specific surface area of 2341 m2 g−1 that was expected to be suitable as active electrode materials for supercapacitors). The prepared electrode exhibited a high capacitance of 215 F g−1 at 1.0 A g−1. Moreover, the electrode could retain almost 93% of the original capacitance, and the Coulombic efficiency remains over 97% after 5,000 cycles. The findings suggest a low-price and high-performance material for supercapacitors.