Effects of preparation temperature on electrochemical performance of nitrogen-enriched carbons

The activated nitrogen-enriched novel carbons (NENCs) were prepared by direct carbonization using polyaniline coating activated mesocarbon microbead composites as the precursor. Herein the influences of the carbonization temperature on the structure and morphology of the NENCs samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm at 77 K. The electrochemical properties of the supercapacitors were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cycle life, leakage current and self-discharge measurements in 6 mol/L KOH solution. The results demonstrate that the NENC samples carbonized at 600 °C show the highest specific capacitance of 385 F/g at the current density of 1 A/g and the lowest ESR value (only 0.93 Ω). Furthermore, the capacity retention ratio of the NENCs-600 supercapacitor is 92.8 % over 2500 cycles.