Synchronous N-doping and activation of carbon aerogels derived from bamboo waste for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

Carbon aerogels derived from biomass are eco-friendly, renewable, and cost-effective, making them promising electrode materials for supercapacitors. In this study, N-doped honeycomb-like carbon aerogels were synthesized from cellulose extracted from bamboo waste, through a self-gelation process in NaOH/KOH/urea, followed by freeze-drying and a synchronized carbonization-activation method. The N-doping significantly improved surface wettability and introduced additional pseudocapacitance via the formation of functional groups. The effect of activation temperature on pore structure and electrochemical performance was thoroughly investigated. The optimized carbon aerogel (CA-600) exhibited a large specific surface area of 1022.53 m² g⁻¹ and a high specific capacitance of 294.2 F g⁻¹ at 0.2 A g⁻¹. The CA-600//CA-600 device delivered an energy density of 8.8 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 5000 W kg⁻¹, with a capacitance retention of 90.7 % after 10,000 cycles. These results demonstrate the potential of carbon aerogel derived from bamboo waste as sustainable materials for energy storage applications, offering a promising pathway toward eco-friendly supercapacitor development.