Covalent organic frameworks (COFs)-derived nitrogen-doped carbon/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite as electrodes materials for supercapacitors

This study reports the ex-situ and in-situ (one-pot) synthesis of a triazine covalent organic framework (COF)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite. The materials are used to synthesize N-doped carbon (N-doped C)/reduced GO (rGO) via a simple carbonization step. The nanocomposites are used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. N-doped C/rGO synthesized via the in-situ method exhibits good electrochemical performance compared to the materials synthesized via the ex-situ procedure. N-doped C/rGO_In-situ offers a specific capacitance of 234 F·g−1 at the current density of 0.8 A·g−1. Two symmetric supercapacitor devices illuminate a white light-emitting diode (LED) lamp. A device using an N-doped C/rGO_In situ electrode shows high specific energy of 14.6 W·h·kg−1 and high specific power of 400 W·kg−1, with only a 14 % decrease in the capacitance performance after 3500 cycles. The simple synthesis procedure using the in-situ method and the high electrochemical performance of the synthesized materials may advance the exploration of an effective electrode material for supercapacitors.