Cui Jinran, Dai Yexin, Xu Shuo, Zhang Pingping, Wang Zhiyun, Liu Xianhua
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China.
College of Food Science and Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Jun 1;17(11):1544. doi: 10.3390/polym17111544.
Hierarchical porous carbon materials hold great potential for energy storage applications due to their high porosity, large specific surface area, and excellent electrical conductivity. Cellulose and sodium alginate are naturally abundant high-molecular-weight biopolymer materials. Utilizing them as precursors for the fabrication of high-performance electrochemical carbon materials is highly significant for achieving carbon neutrality goals. In this study, porous carbon aerogels were successfully synthesized using a combination of freeze-drying and a simple carbonization process, with nanocellulose and sodium alginate as precursors. Among the prepared samples, SC-0.03 (sodium alginate: nanocellulose = 0.1:0.03) exhibited the best performance, achieving a specific surface area of 713.7 m g. This material features an optimized hierarchical pore structure and a substantial intrinsic oxygen doping content, resulting in excellent capacitance performance. Benefiting from these structural advantages and their synergistic effects, the SC-0.03 electrode demonstrated a high specific capacitance of 251.5 F g at a current density of 0.5 A g. This study shows that the construction of three-dimensional porous structures by taking advantage of the self-supporting properties of natural polymer materials does not require the introduction of external binders. Due to the nanoscale dimensions and high aspect ratio, nanocellulose enables the formation of a more refined and interconnected hierarchical pore network, enhancing ion accessibility and conductivity. The hierarchical porous carbon aerogel developed in this study, based on a biomass self-reinforcement strategy, not only shows great promise as an advanced energy storage material but also possesses environmentally friendly properties, offering new insights for the development of sustainable energy materials.
分级多孔碳材料因其高孔隙率、大比表面积和优异的导电性在储能应用中具有巨大潜力。纤维素和海藻酸钠是天然丰富的高分子量生物聚合物材料。利用它们作为制备高性能电化学碳材料的前驱体对于实现碳中和目标具有重要意义。在本研究中，以纳米纤维素和海藻酸钠为前驱体，通过冷冻干燥和简单碳化工艺成功合成了多孔碳气凝胶。在所制备的样品中，SC - 0.03（海藻酸钠：纳米纤维素 = 0.1:0.03）表现出最佳性能，比表面积达到713.7 m²/g。该材料具有优化的分级孔结构和大量的本征氧掺杂含量，从而具有优异的电容性能。得益于这些结构优势及其协同效应，SC - 0.03电极在电流密度为0.5 A/g时表现出251.5 F/g的高比电容。本研究表明，利用天然高分子材料的自支撑特性构建三维多孔结构无需引入外部粘结剂。由于纳米尺度尺寸和高长径比，纳米纤维素能够形成更精细且相互连接的分级孔网络，提高离子可及性和导电性。本研究基于生物质自增强策略开发的分级多孔碳气凝胶不仅作为先进的储能材料具有巨大潜力，而且具有环境友好特性，为可持续能源材料的发展提供了新的见解。
