Highly porous nanocarbons derived from fluorinated polyimide and metal organic framework for energy storage electrodes

Abstract

In this study, porous nanocarbon is prepared by hybridizing metal–organic framework (MOF, ZIF-8 in this study) and fluorinated polyimide (fPI) and subsequent carbonization. The resulting nitrogen-doped nanocarbon has a considerable specific surface area as high as 1096 m2 g–1 and is thus utilized as an electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors. Particularly, the porous nanocarbon derived from the sample containing 10 wt% of ZIF-8 to fPI exhibits coexistence of nano- and mesopores, leading to enhanced mass transport and electrolyte ion diffusion across electrodes and high-rate performance at high specific current. It also retains its initial performance even after 4000 charging/discharging cycles and provide large specific energy (10.7 Wh kg−1) and power (5 kW kg−1). The incorporation of MOF with fPI enhances the porosity of porous carbons in terms of charge storage and thus this hybridization concept provides a vital platform for energy storage electrodes.