Easy synthesis of polyaniline-based mesoporous carbons and their high electrochemical performance

In this work, nitrogen-doped and mesoporous activated carbons (NM-ACs) are prepared using polyaniline (PANI) via silica template method as new carbon materials for supercapacitor electrodes. The effect of mesopores and redox on the electrochemical performance of NM-ACs is investigated. It is found that nitrogen groups on ACs are formed after the carbonization of the PANI, which consisted of C, H, and N, and then mesopores of ACs are formed by silica etching. From BET results, the specific surface area and pore volume of the ACs are increased with increasing silica content. In addition, NM-ACs show higher electrochemical performance than those of N-doped activated carbons (N-ACs) prepared without silica; the highest specific capacitance (125 F/g) of the NM-ACs is obtained at a current density of 0.2 A/g, as compared to 4 F/g for N-ACs. This indicates that the mesopores of NM-ACs lead to feasible ion transfer during charge/discharge duration and that the presence of nitrogen groups on the AC electrode after the carbonization of the PANI can provide the pseudocapacitance effect by redox between electrodes and electrolyte.