The activated nitrogen-enriched novel carbons (NENCs) were prepared by direct carbonization using polyaniline coating activated mesocarbon microbead composites as the precursor. Herein the influences of the carbonization temperature on the structure and morphology of the NENCs samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm at 77 K. The electrochemical properties of the supercapacitors were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cycle life, leakage current and self-discharge measurements in 6 mol/L KOH solution. The results demonstrate that the NENC samples carbonized at 600 °C show the highest specific capacitance of 385 F/g at the current density of 1 A/g and the lowest ESR value (only 0.93?). Furthermore, the capacity retention ratio of the NENCs-600 supercapacitor is 92.8 % over 2500 cycles.
The hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs) were prepared by sol-gel selassembly technology in different surfactant concentrations and were used as the potential electrode for lithium oxygen batteries. The physical and electrochemical properties of the as-prepared HPCs were investigated by filed emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm and galvanostatic charge/discharge. The results indicate that all of the HPCs mainly possess mesoporous structure with nearly similar pore size distribution. Using the HPCs as the electrode, a high discharge capacity for lithium oxygen battery can be achieved, and the discharge capacity increases with the specific surface area. Especially, the HPCs-3 oxygen electrode with CTAB concentration of 0.27 mol/L exhibits good capacity retention through controlling discharge depth to 800 mA·h/g and the highest discharge capacity of 2050 mA·h/g at a rate of 0.1 mA/cm2.