Dual N-doped porous carbon derived from pyrolytic carbon black and critical PANIs constructing high-performance Zn ion hybrid supercapacitor

In view of massive accumulation of pyrolytic carbon black (CBp) from waste tires with low quality, it is urgent to explore its application in electrochemical energy storage to realize the high-value utilization of carbon resources and reduce the cost of supercapacitors. Herein, in-situ polymerization of aniline monomers on activated CBp (ACBp) with the introduction of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) for enhanced N content was first performed to prepare the composite of CBp and polyaniline (PANI), denoted as ACBp-oPANI, and then a dual N-doped material (ACBp-oN) was obtained via direct activation of ACBp-oPANI. The ACBp-oN product shows satisfactory specific capacitance of 335 F g−1 (1 A g−1) with superior rate performance as well as long cycle life in three-electrode system. The investigated charging/discharging kinetics reveal rapid electron transport and ion diffusion, which are attributed to its doped N and enriched channel structure. Besides, the assembled Zn ion hybrid supercapacitor (Zn|C), including ACBp-oN cathode and electrodeposited Zn anode, delivers an amazing energy density of 68.9 Wh kg−1 which is almost 4 times higher than that of conventional symmetrical supercapacitor (C|C), demonstrating more practicality. The research provides new perception into the high-value utilization of waste CBp resources in energy field and strategy for the boosted electrochemical properties of carbon-based materials via the suggested Zn|C energy storage system.