Issue 27, 2018

Flexible metal-templated fabrication of mesoporous onion-like carbon and Fe2O3@N-doped carbon foam for electrochemical energy storage

Abstract

Nanostructured carbon materials have served as potent electrode materials and crucial components for energy storage; however, multi-function integration of the synthesis route is hugely challenging. Consequently, we report herein a facile and general methodology for the synthesis of multifunctional materials, specifically mesoporous onion-like carbon (OLC) and core–shell Fe2O3@N-doped carbon hybrids, derived from water soluble gelatin and ferric nitrate precursors, which could function as high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors (SCs) and Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Owing to the strong chelation effect between the abundant functional groups of gelatin chains and metal ions, in situ-formed uniform confined nanoparticles (NPs) in a three-dimensional (3D) carbon framework could exert the triple roles of templates, graphitizing catalysts, and active materials via controllable annealing. Mesoporous OLC-3 with hollow core size of 5–8 nm, high specific surface area of 418 m2 g−1, thin shells of 3–5 graphitic layers, and rich oxygen content (18.62%) exhibited a remarkable specific capacitance (251.2 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), surpassing most OLC state-of-the-art SC electrodes. Besides, the as-obtained core-shelled Fe2O3@N-doped carbon annealed at 500 °C composed of a gelatin-derived carbon-coating layer (ca. 4 nm) and uniform Fe2O3 core (ca. 30 nm) greatly enhanced the rate capability (achieving an average reversible capacity of 735.9 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 480.6 mA h g−1 at a large current density of 2 A g−1) and demonstrated an excellent cycling life (372 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 1 A g−1, or 0.39 mA h g−1 decay per cycle) for Li storage. This method is quite flexible and could be also extended to the synthesis of other metal-based functional materials.

Graphical abstract: Flexible metal-templated fabrication of mesoporous onion-like carbon and Fe2O3@N-doped carbon foam for electrochemical energy storage

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Mar 2018
Accepted
26 Apr 2018
First published
26 Apr 2018

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018,6, 13012-13020

Flexible metal-templated fabrication of mesoporous onion-like carbon and Fe2O3@N-doped carbon foam for electrochemical energy storage

J. Li, N. Wang, J. Deng, W. Qian and W. Chu, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2018, 6, 13012 DOI: 10.1039/C8TA02417K

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