N/O co-doped litchi peel derived porous carbon materials for supercapacitors

• Published in: The Journal of physics and chemistry of solids 2025-03, Vol.198, p.112472, Article 112472
• Main Authors: Wang, Yuanyuan, Dong, Xingshen, Xia, Yingjing, Wang, Wenyi, Wang, Xueqin, Liu, Yanxiu, Qiao, Peng, Zhang, Geng, Liu, Shetian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomass; Litchi peel; N/O co-doped; Porous carbon materials; Supercapacitors
• ISSN: 0022-3697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpcs.2024.112472

Biomass-derived porous carbon materials, enriched with heteroatom doping, particularly nitrogen and oxygen, have garnered significant attention as promising candidates for supercapacitor electrodes. By utilizing litchi peel, a byproduct of the widely cultivated fruit, as a precursor, we successfully synthesized a series of N/O co-doped porous carbon materials (NO-LPC-y). Notably, NO-LPC-1 exhibits a remarkable specific surface area of 996.05 m2 g−1 and a substantial microporosity percentage of 50.94 %. The high content of nitrogen (6.3 %) and oxygen (18.01 %) synergistically enhances the wettability and capacitance properties of the material. In a 6 M KOH three-electrode system, NO-LPC-1 demonstrated a specific capacitance of 320.0 F g−1, accompanied by an impressive capacitance retention of 74.66 %. Furthermore, symmetric supercapacitors constructed with NO-LPC-1 achieved notable energy densities ranging from 8.63 (250 Wh·kg−1/6 M KOH) to 15.36 Wh·kg−1 (400.1 W kg−1/1 M Na2SO4) in various electrolytes while displaying remarkable cycling stability, retaining 96.9 % of their initial capacitance after 12,000 charge/discharge cycles. This study validates the efficacy of our method in enhancing the electrochemical properties of biomass-derived porous carbon electrodes, thereby advancing the development of high-performance supercapacitors. •N/O co-doped porous carbon material derived from litchi peel for supercapacitor electrodes (NO-LPC-y).•NO-LPC-1 features a high specific surface area of 996.05 m2 g−1 and significant microporosity (50.94 %).•NO-LPC-1 shows a specific capacitance of 320.0 F·g-1 and 74.66% capacitance retention (in 6 M KOH).•NO-LPC-1// NO-LPC-1 exhibit energy densities 8.63 Wh·kg-1 and retain 96.9% of initial capacitance after 12,000 cycles.•The study demonstrates the potential of biomass-derived porous carbon in enhancing supercapacitor performance.