Recent advances in chitosan-derived carbon aerogels for supercapacitor applications: A review

Biopolymer-derived carbon aerogels are efficient choices for high-performance supercapacitor applications because of their biodegradability, cost-effectiveness, abundance, and electrical conductivity. Among the various biopolymers, chitosan is considered one of the most resourceful materials for the formation of excellent aerogels, where the surface functionality of chitosan can be altered via protonation. Additionally, self-N-doping and hierarchical pore structure formation in chitosan-derived aerogel are key benefits for enhancing electrical conductivity and improving charge transfer and storage during supercapacitor performance. This comprehensive review provides the discussion of aerogel formation and an overview of different types of composite regulated chitosan-derived carbon aerogels for supercapacitor applications. This review is organized into six primary sections based on the composite formation and aerogel developments, namely chitosan-derived carbon aerogels with different activation agents, utilization of cross-linkers, combination with different polymers, graphene-based materials, nitrogen co-doped with various elements, and hybrid composites for tailoring the hierarchical pore structure and improving the aerogel properties to obtain the significant supercapacitor performances. Finally, this review explains the notable information related to the advantages, challenges, and future direction of the chitosan-derived porous aerogel for supercapacitor applications.