Facile Fabrication of a Highly Porous N-Doped Nanotubular Carbon Aerogel by an In Situ Template-Growth Method for High-Performance Supercapacitors

A nitrogen-doped nanotubular carbon (N-NTC) aerogel with high porosity was synthesized via a simple in situ template-growth approach using melamine-cyanuric acid (MCA) supramolecular aggregates as the template-forming agent and nitrogen source for high-performance supercapacitors (SCs). MCA/carbon (MCA/C) aerogel was first synthesized through in situ reassembly of MCA to form a rodlike template and polymerization of glucose at the periphery of the MCA template under hydrothermal conditions, and then, the N-NTC aerogel with high N-doping and high porosity was obtained by subsequent pyrolysis of MCA/C and decomposition of MCA. The as-prepared N-NTC aerogel presented a unique one-dimensional structure with a high N content, superhigh specific surface area, large internal diameter, and uniform wall thickness. The formation mechanism of the N-NTC aerogel was analyzed systematically, and the morphology, structure, and chemical properties of the resultant N-NTC aerogel were fully investigated at different carbonization temperatures. As the electrode material of SCs, the N-NTC aerogel obtained at 900 °C carbonization and delivered a superior specific capacitance of 563 F g–1 at 1 A g–1. The corresponding symmetric SC device exhibited a high energy density of 21 Wh kg–1 at a power density of 1217 W kg–1. This method is also applicable to the synthesis of many other carbohydrate-based N-NTC aerogels.