Nitrogen rich graphene-cross-linked melamine formaldehyde carbon cryogels for supercapacitors

A new nitrogen rich porous graphene-cross-linked melamine formaldehyde carbon cryogel (GCMFCC) was successfully prepared by a sol-gel poly condensation reaction catalyzed by Na2CO3; it was subsequently converted to a cryogel by freeze-drying. The melamine formaldehyde carbon cryogel (MFCC) and GCMFCC-x were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XPS and BET analysis showed that the as- prepared GCMFCC-5% cryogel had a highest nitrogen content of 14.29% with surface area of 261.33 m2/g and unimodal meso-pore volume of 0.36 cm3/g. The electrochemical behavior of MFCC and GCMFCC-x samples was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and charge/discharge cycles. GCMFCC-5% achieved highest capacitance of 313.24 F/g. Hence, GCMFCC is a promising electric double-layer capacitor material with low production costs and the ability to avoid supercritical drying.