N-doped carbon materials as electrodes for highly stable supercapacitors

This article reports a strategy to use nitrogen-doped carbon materials as electrodes for supercapacitors. Depending on the carbon precursor, the porous structure is changed with specific surface area reached up to 2270 m2 g−1. The capacitance of carbon materials used as electrodes is related strictly to pore size. The microstructure and nitrogen functionalities enable a high capacitance (327 F g−1) and cycle durability. The nanoporous carbon electrode exhibits long-term cycle life and high cycle stability with a retention of 86% of its initial after 10,000 cycles in neutral electrolyte. Highly porous carbons are thus considered a promising material for supercapacitors.