Chemical crosslinking engineered nitrogen-doped carbon aerogels from polyaniline-boric acid-polyvinyl alcohol gels for high-performance electrochemical capacitors

The hierarchically porous nitrogen-doped polyaniline-boric acid-polyvinyl alcohol (PBP) carbon aerogels (PBP/CAs) are synthesized through chemical crosslinking engineered and KOH activation processes. The optimal sample with a high BET surface area of 2675 m2 g−1, a wide micropore and mesopores size distribution (0.5-4 nm), in-situ nitrogen-doping (0.50%) and surface hydrophilicity (contact angle is 12.9°), exhibits a high specific capacitance of 497 F g−1 in 1 mol L−1 H2SO4 and 400 F g−1 in 6 mol L−1 KOH at a current density of 1 A g−1, and delivers excellent cycling stability with the capacitance retention of 92.80% and 90.71% after 10000 cycles at 30 A g−1, respectively. And it also reveals a high energy density of 12.60 Wh Kg−1 and 11.05 Wh Kg−1 in acid and alkaline electrolytes, respectively. More significantly, the assembled capacitors can be directly applied to degrade azo dye of 4-aminoazobenzene. Our work not only highlights the advantages of one-pot chemical crosslinking route to prepare nitrogen-doped PBP/CAs under ambient condition (e.g. room temperature, cost-effective raw materials, time-saving and routine equipment et al.), but also offers competitive electrodes for high-performance pH-universal electrochemical double-layer capacitor with a potential broad application in energy conversion devices.

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