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Nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel synthesis by solvothermal gelation for supercapacitor application

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Abstract

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon aerogel having high surface area and high nitrogen content was synthesized by sol–gel method for supercapacitor application. The synthesis process involved the use of solvothermal-based high pressure gelation followed by ambient drying, carbonization and activation for surface area enhancement. Melamine was used as nitrogen precursor in carbon aerogel, which was added to resorcinol–furfuraldehyde sol in pre-polymerized state. Melamine to resorcinol ratio was varied to obtain optimal composition intended for achieving high surface area and mesoporosity for better electrochemical performance. Melamine to resorcinol ratio of 0.8 was found to be optimum, which compared to other samples has the highest surface area of 1520 m2g−1and mesopore surface area contribution of 375 m2g−1 with nitrogen content of 10.6 atomic% in carbon network. Owing to these properties, the electrodes formed with this material showed a high specific capacitance of 240 Fg−1 at a current density of 1 Ag−1. Further, these electrodes showed good cyclic stability with more than 95% capacitance retention in 5000 cycles. Significantly better electrochemical performance of nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel as electrode is attributed to the optimized composition with predominant mesopores, better conductivity and high wettability.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thankfully acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Alka A. Ingale, Dr. Rahul Agrawal, Dr. Gurvinder Singh, and Shri Prem Kumar in the analysis of samples used in this study. Dr. S. R. Barman, Dr. N. P. Lalla of UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Indore are thanked for providing the XPS facility, helpful discussion during TEM data analysis and for providing TEM data respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nano Functional Materials Lab., Laser Functional Materials Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, 452013, India

    Sushmita Bhartiya, Rashmi Singh, Ashish Singh, D. K. Kohli & M. K. Singh

  2. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai, 400094, India

    Ashish Singh

  3. UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Indore, 452014, India

    Mohammad Balal & Preeti Bhardwaj

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  1. Sushmita Bhartiya
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Bhartiya, S., Singh, R., Singh, A. et al. Nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel synthesis by solvothermal gelation for supercapacitor application. J Solid State Electrochem 26, 2829–2839 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-022-05289-6

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