Nitrogen-enriched carbon sheets derived from egg white by using expanded perlite template and its high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

Nitrogen-enriched carbon sheets were synthesized using egg white as a unique carbon source and expanded perlite as a novel template. The as-prepared material was further used as an electrode material for super capacitor applications, demonstrating excellent super capacitance with a maximum gravimetric specific capacitance of 302 F g(−1) at 0.5 A g(−1) in a 3-electrode setup for a sample carbonized at 850 °C and activated for 6 h. Moreover, the carbon sheet-based capacitor with 2-symmetric electrodes showed an excellent cycle life (2% loss at 0.1 A g(−1) after 10 000 cycles). The excellent performance may be attributed to the combination of the 3D carbon structure and the highly concentrated doped nitrogen component from the natural egg source for superior pseudocapacitance.