Discriminating Active BN Sites in Coralloidal B, N Dual‐Doped Carbon Nano‐Bundles for Boosted Zn‐Ion Storage Capability

• Published in: Advanced functional materials 2023-03, Vol.33 (12), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Chen, Xinghua, Ye, Pengcheng, Wang, Haiyan, Huang, Hao, Zhong, Yijun, Hu, Yong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: B N bonds; Carbon; carbon nano‐bundles; Chemical bonds; Chemical properties; Electrochemical analysis; Energy storage; high specific capacities; Ion storage; Materials science; Nitrogen; Zn‐ion hybrid supercapacitors
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202212915

Dual doping of boron (B) and nitrogen (N) provides an effective strategy to tailor chemical properties and electron distributions in the carbon plane, as well as customize the energy storage performance. Herein, a systematic theoretical and experimental study on rationally constructing coralloidal B, N dual‐doped carbon (BNC) nano‐bundles with abundant BN bonds for efficient Zn‐ion storage is presented. Compared with the single B or N doped sample and other dual‐doped B and N sites, the BN bond sites are found to boost the adsorption of Zn ions and enhance the electronic conductivity, which efficiently contribute to Zn‐ion storage. As expected, the optimized BNC nano‐bundles display greatly improved electrochemical performance, manifested by the high specific capacity of 204 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and ultralong cycling stability for 40 000 cycles, outperforming most of the state‐of‐the‐art carbon cathodes. Moreover, a distinguished energy density of 178.7 Wh kg−1 and a high‐power density of 17.5 kW kg−1 are achieved with a constructed BNC//Zn device. This work not only provides critical insight for designing advanced carbon materials but also deepens the fundamental understanding of the governing mechanisms in dual‐doped carbon electrodes. An advanced carbon electrode based on coralloidal BNC nano‐bundles with abundant BN bonds are rationally designed and prepared for efficient Zn‐ion storage. The BN bond sites are found to boost the adsorption of Zn ions and enhance the electronic conductivity, which efficiently contribute to Zn‐ion storage.