Abstract
In this paper, porous carbon materials were prepared from activating lignin–urea–formaldehyde resin microspheres. The nitrogen content, oxygen content, crystal structure, specific surface area, pore diameter distribution and electrochemical properties of the carbon materials were analyzed by investigating the amount of lignin added and carbon–alkali ratios. The addition of lignin brought in oxygen-containing groups to enhance surface wettability and pseudocapacitance. Multiplier properties, cycle life and specific capacitance were further studied. Urea–formaldehyde resin with 30% lignin addition could produce porous carbon materials with the most superior electrochemical performance, which had the highest specific surface area (3342 m2 g−1), higher mesoporous rate (83%), larger specific capacitance (305 F g−1) and better cycling stability and had eminent characteristics of double-layer capacitance at all current densities and speeds. The above data showed that the urea–formaldehyde resin microspheres could prepare nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials after adding lignin, which could be used as promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability statement
The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also form part of an ongoing study.
References
Alonso M, Oliet M, Rodriguez F et al (2005) Modification of ammonium lignosulfonate by phenolation for use in phenolic resins. Bioresour Technol 96:1013–1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2004.09.009
Bai X, Zhang F, Wang YB et al (2021) The effects of anions on the structure and the electrochemical performance of carbon materials for supercapacitors. J Phys Chem Solids. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpcs.2020.109847
Cerrutti BM, de Souza CS, Castellan A et al (2012) Carboxymethyl lignin as stabilizing agent in aqueous ceramic suspensions. Ind Crops Prod 36:108–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2011.08.015
Du J, Zhang Y, Wu H et al (2020) N-doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres by improved dissolution-capture for supercapacitors. Carbon 156:523–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2019.09.091
Gao SS, Cheng ZH, Zhou X et al (2020) Unexpected role of amphiphilic lignosulfonate to improve the storage stability of urea formaldehyde resin and its application as adhesives. Int J Biol Macromol 161:755–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.06.135
Genc R, Alas MO, Harputlu E et al (2017) High-Capacitance hybrid supercapacitor based on multi-colored fluorescent carbon-dots. Sci Rep. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-11347-1
Graca MPF, Rudnitskaya A, Faria FAC et al (2012) Electrochemical impedance study of the lignin-derived conducting polymer. Electrochim Acta 76:69–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.04.155
Hu HC, Xu HM, Wu JY et al (2020) Secondary bonds modifying conjugate-blocked linkages of biomass-derived lignin to form electron transfer 3d networks for efficiency exceeding 16% nonfullerene organic solar cells. Adv Funct Mater. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202001494
Kai D, Tan MJ, Chee PL et al (2016) Towards lignin-based functional materials in a sustainable world. Green Chem 18:1175–1200. https://doi.org/10.1039/c5gc02616d
Le Digabel F, Averous L (2006) Effects of lignin content on the properties of lignocellulose-based biocomposites. Carbohydr Polym 66:537–545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2006.04.023
Lee JSM, Briggs ME, Hu CC et al (2018) Controlling electric double-layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance in heteroatom-doped carbons derived from hypercrosslinked microporous polymers. Nano Energy 46:277–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.01.042
Li Z, Xu ZW, Wang HL et al (2014) Colossal pseudocapacitance in a high functionality-high surface area carbon anode doubles the energy of an asymmetric supercapacitor. Energy Environ Sci 7:1708–1718. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ee43979h
Li CZ, Zhao XC, Wang AQ et al (2015) Catalytic transformation of lignin for the production of chemicals and fuels. Chem Rev 115:11559–11624. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00155
Li YJ, Zheng SH, Liu X et al (2018) Conductive microporous covalent triazine-based framework for high-performance electrochemical capacitive energy storage. Angew Chem Int Ed 57:7992–7996. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201711169
Liu WJ, Jiang H, Yu HQ (2015) Thermochemical conversion of lignin to functional materials: a review and future directions. Green Chem 17:4888–4907. https://doi.org/10.1039/c5gc01054c
Liu H, Liu RM, Xu C et al (2020) Oxygen-nitrogen-sulfur self-doping hierarchical porous carbon derived from lotus leaves for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. J Power Sources. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.228799
Liu BG, Shi R, Chen RF et al (2021) Optimized synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon with extremely high surface area for adsorption and supercapacitor. Appl Surf Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.147961
Ma GF, Yang Q, Sun KJ et al (2015) Nitrogen-doped porous carbon derived from biomass waste for high-performance supercapacitor. Bioresour Technol 197:137–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.07.100
Miao L, Qian XY, Zhu DZ et al (2019) From interpenetrating polymer networks to hierarchical porous carbons for advanced supercapacitor electrodes. Chin Chem Lett 30:1445–1449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cclet.2019.03.010
Paraknowitsch JP, Thomas A (2013) Doping carbons beyond nitrogen: an overview of advanced heteroatom doped carbons with boron, sulphur and phosphorus for energy applications. Energy Environ Sci 6:2839–2855. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ee41444b
Qu P, Li YC, Huang HY et al (2020) Foamed urea-formaldehyde microspheres for removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. Chemosphere. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125004
Shao HX, Tang QG, Liang JS et al (2011) Effect of mineral composite fillers on properties of man-made plywood. In: Advance in ecological environment functional materials and ion industry II. China, Shanghai, pp 97–102
Siimer K, Kaljuvee T, Christjanson P (2003) Thermal behaviour of urea-formaldehyde resins during curing. J Therm Anal Calorim 72:607–617. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024590019244
Song ZY, Zhu DZ, Li LC et al (2019) Ultrahigh energy density of a N, O codoped carbon nanosphere based all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor. J Mater Chem A 7:1177–1186. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta10158b
Sun QN, Khunsupat R, Akato K et al (2016) A study of poplar organosolv lignin after melt rheology treatment as carbon fiber precursors. Green Chem 18:5015–5024. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6gc00977h
Sun T, Wang CL, Jiao DD et al (2017) Facile preparation of porous N-doped carbon via a one-step carbonization/activation treatment of polyvinylpyrrolidone/melamine formaldehyde resin with ammonium carbonate and its enhanced electrochemical performances for supercapacitors. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 28:8993–9002. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-017-6630-2
Tan ZX, Yang JW, Liang YR et al (2021) The changing structure by component: biomass-based porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitors. J Colloid Interface Sci 585:778–786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2020.10.058
Wang DL, Chen MM, Wang CY et al (2011) Synthesis of carbon microspheres from urea formaldehyde resin. ACS Mater Lett 65:1069–1072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2011.01.003
Wang G, Zhang L, Zhang J (2012) A review of electrode materials for electrochemical supercapacitors. Chem Soc Rev 41:797–828. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1cs15060j
Wang HH, Zou J, Shen YD et al (2013) Preparation and colloidal properties of an aqueous acetic acid lignin containing polyurethane surfactant. J Appl Polym Sci 130:1855–1862. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.39300
Wang F, Wang YH, Fang Y et al (2020) Synthesis of nitrogen-doped flower-like carbon microspheres from urea-formaldehyde resins for high-performance supercapacitor. J Alloys Compd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.152109
Xiang XX, Liu EH, Huang ZZ et al (2011) Preparation of activated carbon from polyaniline by zinc chloride activation as supercapacitor electrodes. J Solid State Electrochem 15:2667–2674. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-010-1258-7
Yan J, Wang Q, Wei T et al (2014) Recent advances in design and fabrication of electrochemical supercapacitors with high energy densities. Adv Energy Mater 4(4):1300816. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201300816
Yang N, Hu DR, Cao BK et al (2017) Preparation of three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon microspheres for use as a cathode material in lithium-air batteries. New Carbon Mater 32:564–571. https://doi.org/10.19869/j.ncm.1007-8827.2017.06.008
Yang ZL, Fu KY, Yu J et al (2018) Facile preparation of nanoporous C-60/P3HT thin films from PLA-b-C-60-b-P3HT triblock copolymers. Appl Surf Sci 458:70–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2018.07.076
Younesi-Kordkheili H, Pizzi A (2017) A comparison between lignin modified by ionic liquids and glyoxalated lignin as modifiers of urea-formaldehyde resin. J Adhes Dent 93:1120–1130. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218464.2016.1209741
Younesi-Kordkheili H, Kazemi-Najafi S, Eshkiki RB, Pizzi A (2015) Improving urea formaldehyde resin properties by glyoxalated soda bagasse lignin. Eur J Wood Prod 73:77–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-014-0850-4
Younesi-Kordkheili H, Pizzi A, Honarbakhsh-Raouf A, Nemati F (2017) The effect of soda bagasse lignin modified by ionic liquids on properties of the urea-formaldehyde resin as a wood adhesive. J Adhes Sci Technol 93:914–925. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218464.2016.1188284
Yu J, Fu N, Zhao J et al (2019) High specific capacitance electrode material for supercapacitors based on resin-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbons. ACS Omega 4:15904–15911. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b01916
Yue JJ, Yuan MY, Zhao H, Li M (2020) Silica-assisted urea-formaldehyde-based carbon microspheres with enhanced supercapacitor performances as electrode. J Appl Polym Sci. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.48388
Zhang Y, Zhang L, Cheng L et al (2021) Synthesis of faradaic-active N, O-doped carbon nanosheets from m-trihydroxybenzene and piperazine for high-performance supercapacitor. Appl Surf Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.148040
Zhong M, Liu H, Wang M et al (2019) Hierarchically N/O-enriched nanoporous carbon for supercapacitor application: simply adjusting the composition of deep eutectic solvent as well as the ratio with phenol-formaldehyde resin. J Power Sources. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.226982
Zhou JQ, Wang M, Li X (2019) Promising biomass-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon for high performance supercapacitor. J Porous Mater 26:99–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-018-0622-3
Zorba T, Papadopoulou E, Hatjiissaak A et al (2008) Urea-formaldehyde resins characterized by thermal analysis and FTIR method. J Therm Anal Calorim 92:29–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-007-8731-2
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Jilin Scientific and Technological Development Program, China (No. 20180101287JC).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Qi, W., Lei, Y., Xu, W. et al. Preparation of carbon microspheres from lignin–urea–formaldehyde resin for application in high-performance supercapacitor. Wood Sci Technol 56, 367–387 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-022-01357-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-022-01357-2