Unraveling the Capacitive Charge Storage Mechanism of Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbons by EQCM and ssNMR

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • En Zhang - , Chair of Inorganic Chemistry I (Author)
  • Yih Chyng Wu - , Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Energie RS2E - Research network on electrochemical energy storage (Author)
  • Hui Shao - , Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Energie RS2E - Research network on electrochemical energy storage (Author)
  • Vytautas Klimavicius - , Vilnius University, Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Hanyue Zhang - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Pierre Louis Taberna - , Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (Author)
  • Julia Grothe - , Chair of Inorganic Chemistry I (Author)
  • Gerd Buntkowsky - , Technische Universität Darmstadt (Author)
  • Fei Xu - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Patrice Simon - , Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Energie RS2E - Research network on electrochemical energy storage (Author)
  • Stefan Kaskel - , Chair of Inorganic Chemistry I, Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (Author)

Abstract

Fundamental understanding of ion electroadsorption processes in porous electrodes on a molecular level provides important guidelines for next-generation energy storage devices like electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs). Porous carbons functionalized by heteroatoms show enhanced capacitive performance, but the underlying mechanism is still elusive, due to the lack of reliable tools to precisely identify multiple N species and establish clear structure property relations. Here, we use advanced analytical techniques such as low-temperature solid-state NMR (ssNMR) and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) to relate the complex nitrogen functionalities to the charging mechanisms and capacitive performance. For the first time, it is demonstrated at a molecular level that N-doping strongly influences the electroadsorption mechanism in EDLCs. Without N-doping, anion (SO42-) adsorption-desorption dominates the charging mechanism, whereas after doping, Li+ electroadsorption plays a key role. With the help of EQCM, it is demonstrated that SO42- is strongly immobilized on the N-doped surface, leaving Li+ as the main charge carrier. The smaller size and higher concentration of Li+ compared to SO42- benefit a higher capacitance. Amine/amide N is responsible for high capacitance, but surprisingly the pyridinic, pyrrolic, and graphitic N groups have no significant influence. 2D 1H-15N NMR spectroscopy indicates that the conversion from pyridinium to pyrrolic N gives rise to a slightly decreased capacitance. This work not only demonstrates ssNMR as a powerful tool for surface chemistry characterization of electrode materials but also uncovers the related charging mechanism by EQCM, paving the way toward a comprehensive picture of EDLC chemistry.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14217-14225
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume144
Issue number31
Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 35914237