Chitosan-derived carbon and NiCo₂O₄ aerogel composite for high-performance supercapacitors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Supercapacitors require advanced electrode materials for enhanced energy storage.
• Chitosan-based carbon materials offer tunable properties for energy applications.
• Nitrogen doping and composite formation can improve electrochemical performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate chitosan-derived nitrogen-doped carbon (CCS) and CCS/NiCo2O4 (CNCO) aerogels.
• To optimize aerogel composition and carbonization temperature for supercapacitor performance.
• To evaluate the electrochemical properties and device-level performance of the developed aerogels.

Main Methods:

• Multi-step fabrication strategy for aerogel synthesis.
• Systematic investigation of precursor ratios and carbonization temperatures.
• Electrochemical characterization including capacitance, cyclic stability, and energy density measurements.
• Assembly and testing of solid-state supercapacitor devices.

Main Results:

• The optimal aerogel (CNCO-2), carbonized at 300°C, exhibited high specific surface area and nitrogen content.
• CNCO-2 achieved a high specific capacitance of 1200 F g⁻¹ at 1.0 A g⁻¹ as an electrode material.
• The solid-state CCS//CNCO-2 device showed a capacitance of 172 F g⁻¹ at 1.0 A g⁻¹, with over 87% retention after 10,000 cycles.
• The device achieved a maximum energy density of 53 Wh kg⁻¹ and demonstrated scalable performance in series/parallel configurations.

Conclusions:

• Chitosan-derived aerogel composites are effective electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors.
• Optimized synthesis conditions lead to enhanced specific surface area, nitrogen content, and electrochemical properties.
• The developed solid-state devices exhibit excellent capacitance, stability, and energy density, suitable for practical energy storage solutions.