3D interconnected porous carbon derived from spontaneous merging of the nano-sized ZIF-8 polyhedrons for high-mass-loading supercapacitor electrodes†
Di Geng,Su Zhang,Yuting Jiang,Zimu Jiang,Mengjiao Shi,Jin Chang,Shichuan Liang,Mingyi Zhang,Jing Feng
Journal of Materials Chemistry A Pub Date : 12/30/2021 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/D1TA09501C
Abstract

Interconnected porous carbons show great potential for high-rate capacitive energy storage, especially at high electrode mass loadings, due to their continuous conductive network and ion migration channels. Herein, we show a simple construction of 3D interconnected porous carbon through spontaneous merging of nano-sized ZIF-8 polyhedrons (ca. 76 nm) during the pyrolysis process. The obtained porous carbon shows a continuous conductive network, interconnected micro-/meso-porous structure, abundant N and O heteroatoms, and good hydrophilicity, enabling fast electron and ion transport kinetics for thick electrodes. As a result of the above merits, the as-obtained carbon shows high capacitance (320.7 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) and outstanding rate performance (213.9 F g−1 at 100 A g−1). Importantly, even at a high mass loading of 15 mg cm−2, the as-prepared material exhibits an outstanding rate performance of 137.7 F g−1 at 100 A g−1. Furthermore, the assembled symmetric supercapacitor using 1 mol L−1 Na2SO4 electrolyte shows a high energy density of 20.6 W h kg−1 at 0.5 kW kg−1 and 7.6 W h kg−1 at 34.3 kW kg−1, as well as good cycle stability. Our work indicates that building 3D interconnected structure by merging nanoparticles shows great potential for high-mass-loading energy storage.

Graphical abstract: 3D interconnected porous carbon derived from spontaneous merging of the nano-sized ZIF-8 polyhedrons for high-mass-loading supercapacitor electrodes