Green Synthesis of Porous Three-Dimensional Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Foam for Electrochemical Applications.

Abstract

A facile and green approach was developed for the production of porous three-dimensional (3D) nitrogen-doped graphene with a foam structure. In comparison with conventional methods, this green approach uses environmental precursors in the preparation of graphene products. The resulting crystalline graphene foam product exhibited a uniform structure with large surface area. These appealing features render the prepared graphene foam product a prospective backbone for producing 3D charge-transport networks. The 3D graphene foam products were employed as the skeleton with an interconnected network for lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion batteries with the 3D porous foam structure exhibit superior cycling stability and good rate capability. There is no capacity loss after 800 cycles because the capacity stabilized for the first few cycles, and the lithium-ion batteries with 3D graphene foam showed a discharge capacity of 180 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 1000 mA g(-1). This superior cycling stability and good rate capability was ascribed to the 3D structure with an interconnected porous network and the nitrogen-doping strategy for improved conductive properties of graphene foam, which produces an efficient 3D charge-transport network. The configuration of this 3D transport network in lithium-ion cells not only can improve the electron-transport efficiency but also can suppress the volume effect during charge/discharge cycling. Besides, nitrogen doping could enhance the formation of chemical bonding between carbon and the nearby nitrogen atoms, which could accelerate the diffusion of lithium ions through the whole graphene network.