Nitrogen-Containing Carbon Aerogels with High Specific Surface Area for Supercapacitors

Electrode materials have significant influence on the performance of supercapacitors. Hence, the synthesis of electrode materials with a low cost and excellent electrochemical performance has immense value. Herein, sodium alginate and carboxylated chitosan were used as raw materials to synthesize nitrogen-containing porous carbon aerogels (NPCAs). The effect of carbonization temperature on the structure and property of NPCA was studied. The specific surface area of NPCA can reach 2028 m(2) g(-1). The electrochemical performance of NPCA was tested by using a three-electrode system and a two-electrode system. The specific capacitance of NPCA-800 (800 represents the carbonization temperature) in the three-electrode system can reach 213.1 F g(-1) and 146.8 F g(-1) at current densities of 1.0 A g(-1) and 10 A g(-1), respectively. Meanwhile, NPCA-800 exhibits an excellent cycle performance and the specific capacitance can retain 91.77 % after 20 000 cycles. The energy density of NPCA-800 can reach 28.8 Wh kg(-1) at a power density of 0.28 kW kg(-1) in the two-electrode system.