Nitrogen-doped carbon boosting Fe2O3 anode performance for supercapacitors

Here, we report Fe2O3/N-doped carbon (Fe2O3/CN) composites via one-step facile calcination process using FeOOH and PANI as precursor. The results show that N-doped carbon is helpful to enhance the electrochemical properties of Fe2O3. N-doped carbon not only enhances the conductivity of Fe2O3 electrode, but also alleviates the volume expansion of Fe2O3 in the process of repeated charge and discharge. In addition, the synergistic effect of Fe2O3 and N-doped porous carbon makes the composites show higher capacitive properties (538.7 mF cm−2 at 5 mA cm−2) and cycle life (100% retention after 2000 cycles). In addition, its superior electrochemical performance is also proved in symmetrical supercapacitor. After 4900 cycles with current density of 10 mA cm−2, its capacity retention rate is 100%. So Fe2O3/N-doped carbon as electrode materials for long-life symmetrical supercapacitors has broad application prospects.