The Improvement of Energy Storage Performance by Sucrose-Derived Carbon Foams via Incorporating Nitrogen Atoms

This paper addresses the problem of improving electrochemical energy storage with electrode materials obtained from common raw ingredients in a facile synthesis. In this study, we present a simple, one-pot route of synthesizing microporous carbon via a very fast reaction of sucrose and graphene (carbon source), chitosan (carbon and nitrogen source), and H₃PO₄. Porous carbons were successfully produced during high temperature carbonization, using nitrogen as a shielding gas. Samples were characterized using X-ray powder diffractometry, elemental analysis, N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The developed carbon material possessed a high surface area, up to 1313 m² g^-1, with no chemical or physical activators used in the process. The structural parameters of the microporous carbons varied depending on the ratio of reagents and mass composition. Samples were prepared both with and without chitosan. The present synthesis route has the advantages of being a single-step approach and only involving low-cost and environmentally friendly sources of carbon. More importantly, microporous carbon was prepared without any activators and potentially offers great application in supercapacitors. Cyclic voltammetry and constant current charge-discharge tests show that sucrose-based porous carbons show excellent electrochemical performance with a specific capacitance of up to 143 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1 in a 6 M KOH electrolyte.