A quinone-amine coupling route to interwoven heterodiatomic carbon nanofiber networks with fast and durable charge storage

Abstract

Engineering highly active and robust carbon nanoarchitectures is critical for energy storage devices with fast and durable charge storage capability. Herein, a quinone-amine coupling route is reported to customize interwoven heterodiatomic carbon nanofiber networks (HCNN), triggered by the polymerization between electron-withdrawing benzoquinone and electron-donating 4, 4′-diaminodiphenyl ether through hydrogen-bonding and π − π stacking interactions. Modulating the NaNH2-assisted thermal programming triggers the in-situ templating effect of sodium inorganics in polymer scaffold voids to form abundant micropores, and induces the expansion effect of released gases (N2, O2, NH3) to broaden micropores to more mesopores. HCNN shows ion-compatible pore structures, exposed electrosorption platform (2384 m2 g−1), nanofiber topology, and rich N/O motifs (4.15/13.82 wt%). The subnanopores (0.87 nm) and secondary pores (0.66 nm) of HCNN are size-exclusively accessible for SO3CF3− anion (0.79 nm) and Li+ cation (0.65 nm) of LiCF3SO3 electrolyte, which empowers high accessibility of electroactive sites and rapid ion transfer, maximizing the spatial capacitive charge storage. The assembled HCNN-based aqueous supercapacitors achieve ultrahigh energy densities of 41.8 Wh kg−1 in LiCF3SO3 electrolyte and 110.6 Wh kg−1 in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid electrolyte. Besides, HCNN as the Zn-ion capacitor cathode harvests high capacity of 220 mAh g−1, high-rate tolerance (20 A g−1) and a superior lifespan of 20, 000 cycles. This work sheds lights on structural and functional design for high-performance carbons toward advanced electrochemical energy storage.

Keywords

• Quinone-amine coupling
• Carbon nanofiber network
• Charge storage
• High energy density
• Long lifespan