Preparation of nitrogen-doped porous carbons for high-performance supercapacitor using biomass of waste lotus stemsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c7ra13013a

• Main Authors: Yan, Song, Lin, Jingjing, Liu, Ping, Zhao, Zhicheng, Lian, Jun, Chang, Wei, Yao, Lu, Liu, Yueran, Lin, Hualin, Han, Sheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Published: 12.02.2018
• ISSN: 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c7ra13013a

In this study, advanced nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials for supercapacitor was prepared using low-cost and environmentally friendly waste lotus stems (denoted as LS-NCs). Nitrogen in the surface functionalities of LS-NCs was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The sum of pyridine nitrogen (N-6) and pyrrolic/pyridinic (N-5) contents accounted for 94.7% of the total nitrogen and significantly contributed to conductivity. Pore structure and surface area of activated carbons were measured using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. A maximum specific surface area of 1322 m 2 g −1 was achieved for LS-NCs. The porous carbons exhibited excellent electrochemical properties with a specific capacitance of 360.5 F g −1 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 and excellent cycling stability (96% specific capacitance retention after 5000 cycles). The above findings indicate that taking advantage of the unique structure of abundant waste lotus stem provides a low-cost and feasible design for high-performance supercapacitors. In this study, advanced nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials for supercapacitor was prepared using low-cost and environmentally friendly waste lotus stems (denoted as LS-NCs).