Improving the electrocapacitive properties of mesoporous CMK-5 carbon with carbon nanotubes and nitrogen doping

Nitrogen-containing carbon composite materials composed of mesoporous carbon CMK-5 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by the chemical vapor deposition method with Fe(NO₃)₃-impregnated SBA-15 as template and pyridine as the carbon precursor. The Fe nanoparticles confined in the channels of SBA-15 induced the formation of mesoporous carbon characteristic of CMK-5, whereas Fe particles homogeneously dispersed on the external surface of SBA-15 served as catalysts for CNTs growth. The contents of CNTs, the N doping level and the microstruture of the carbon composite were closely related to the initial Fe/Si atomic ratio in SBA-15 template. Incorporation of CNTs in the composite was found to substantially reduce the electric resistance, leading to the composite materials exhibiting excellent rate-performance. A maximum specific capacitance of 208 F/g and a power density of 10 kW/kg were achieved in 6.0 mol/L KOH aqueous electrolyte when these carbon composites were applied as supercapacitor electrodes. Moreover, the composite electrode also exhibited good electrochemical stability with no capacitance loss after 1000 cycles of galvanostatic charge-discharge process.