Nitrogen-doped porous carbon derived from dopamine-modified polypyrrole and its electrochemical capacitive behavior

Abstract

Carbonization of a nitrogen-containing polymer under inert atmosphere has been used to obtain nitrogen-enriched carbon materials. Herein, we synthesized dopamine-modified polypyrrole (PDA-PPy) via chemical polymerization, which was then carbonized under nitrogen atmosphere to produce nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials (NPC). The structure and morphology of the NPC were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). By regulating the molar ratio of pyrrole monomer to dopamine, the morphology of PDA-PPy and the capacitive performance of NPC could be controlled. At a current density of 0.5 A∙g-1, the specific capacitance of NPC-0.5 (the molar ratio of dopamine to pyrrole monomer is 0.5) is ca 210 F∙g-1. Even at a current density of 10 A∙g-1, the specific capacitance of NPC-0.5 is up to 134 F∙g-1 and the retention rate is 63.8%.