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. 2023 Jun 8;13(24):16136-16144.
doi: 10.1039/d3ra02314a. eCollection 2023 May 30.

Introducing micropores into carbon nanoparticles synthesized via a solution plasma process by thermal treatment and their charge storage properties in supercapacitors

Affiliations

Introducing micropores into carbon nanoparticles synthesized via a solution plasma process by thermal treatment and their charge storage properties in supercapacitors

Myo Myo Thu et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

Carbon materials synthesized via a solution plasma process (SPP) have recently shown great potential for various applications. However, they mainly possess a meso-macroporous structure with a lack of micropores, which limits their applications for supercapacitors. Herein, carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) were synthesized from benzene via SPP and then subjected to thermal treatment at different temperatures (400, 600, 800, and 1000 °C) in an argon environment. The CNPs exhibited an amorphous phase and were more graphitized at high treatment temperatures. A small content of tungsten carbide particles was also observed, which were encapsulated in CNPs. An increase in treatment temperature led to an increase in the specific surface area of CNPs from 184 to 260 m2 g-1 through the development of micropores, while their meso-macropore structure remained unchanged. The oxygen content of CNPs decreased from 14.72 to 1.20 atom% as the treatment temperature increased due to the degradation of oxygen functionality. The charge storage properties of CNPs were evaluated for supercapacitor applications by electrochemical measurements using a three-electrode system in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte. The CNPs treated at low temperatures exhibited an electric double layer and pseudocapacitive behavior due to the presence of quinone groups on the carbon surface. With increasing treatment temperature, the electric double layer behavior became more dominant, while pseudocapacitive behavior was suppressed due to the quinone degradation. Regarding cycling stability, the CNPs treated at high temperatures (with a lack of oxygen functionality) were more stable than those treated at low temperatures. This work highlights a way of introducing micropores into CNPs derived from SPP via thermal treatment, which could be helpful for controlling and adjusting their pore structure for supercapacitor applications.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. (a) XRD patterns and (b) Raman spectra of CNPs.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. FESEM, TEM, and HRTEM images: (a) CNP-RT, (b) CNP-400, (c) CNP-600, (d) CNP-800, and (e) CNP-1000. The corresponding SAED patterns are shown in the inset of TEM images (a-2)–(e-2).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. TGA curves of CNPs in the temperature range of 50 to 800 °C under an N2 flow.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. (a) N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms and (b) bar plots showing the contribution of specific surface area (SBET) of CNPs by micropores (Smicro) and meso–macropores (Smeso/macro).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. High-resolution XPS O 1s spectra of CNPs with deconvolution.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. (a) Comparative CV curves of CNPs within the potential window of 0–1 V at a scan rate of 20 mV s−1: the vertical arrows indicate the faradaic redox peak, and the inset shows the quinone redox reaction in the potential from 0.1 to 0.6 V. (b) CV curves of CNP-400 at different scan rates from 10 to 100 mV s−1, (c) comparative GCD curves of CNPs at a current density of 1 A g−1, (d) GCD curves of CNP-400 at different current densities from 1 to 20 A g−1, (e) specific capacitance (Cs) of CNPs as a function of current density, and (f) capacitance retention of CNP-400 and CNP-1000 measured at a current density of 10 A g−1 over 5000 cycles. The inset shows the CV curves of CNP-400 and CNP-1000 before and after 5000 cycles.

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