MOF-Derived Zn/N-Doped Porous Carbon Film on a Carbon Nanotube for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Inorg Chem. 2024 Jul 29;63(30):14200-14205. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02330. Epub 2024 Jul 16.

Abstract

Designing high-performance binder-free electrochemical electrodes is crucially important toward supercapacitors. In this paper, a Zn/N-doped porous carbon film coating on flexible carbon nanotubes (ZIF-8@CT-800) derived from the epitaxial Zn-MOF film growth on cotton textile was successfully fabricated via a combination of the liquid-phase epitaxial (LPE) method and calcination treatments. The ZIF-8@CT-800 serves directly as a self-supported electrode for supercapacitors and exhibits a high areal capacitance of 930 mF·cm-2 at a current density of 1 mA·cm-2 and a good recyclability of 86% after 2000 cycles. The excellent supercapacitor property is ascribed to the unique structural design of ZIF-8@CT-800, which provides appropriate channels for enhanced electronic and ionic transport as well as increased surface area for accessing more electrolyte ions. This work will provide significant guidance for designing MOF-derived porous carbon to construct flexible binder-free electrode materials with high electrochemical performance.