Nitrogen-rich hierarchically porous carbon foams as high-performance electrodes for lithium-based dual-ion capacitor

Abstract

Nitrogen-rich porous carbonaceous materials have shown great potential in energy storage and conversion applications due to their facile fabrication, high electronic conductivity, and improved hydrophilic property. Herein, three-dimensional porous N-rich carbon foams are fabricated through a one-step carbonization-activation method of the commercial melamine foam, and displaying hierarchically porous structure (macro-, meso-, and micro-pores), large surface area (1686.5 m2 g−1), high N-containing level (3.3 at%), and excellent compressibility. The as-prepared carbon foams as electrodes for quasi-solid-state supercapacitors exhibit enhanced energy storage ability with 210 F g−1 and 2.48c at 0.1 A g−1, and150 F g−1 and 1.77 F cm−2 at 1 A g−1, respectively. Moreover, as an electrode for lithium-based dual-ion capacitor, this distinctive porous carbon also delivers remarkable specific capacitance with 143.6 F g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 116.2 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. The simple preparation method and the fascinating electrochemical performance endow the N-rich porous carbon foams great prospects as high-performance electrodes for electrochemical energy storage.