General Synthesis of N-Doped Macroporous Graphene-Encapsulated Mesoporous Metal Oxides and Their Application as New Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitors

Abstract

A general method to synthesize mesoporous metal oxide@ N-doped macroporous graphene composite by heat-treatment of electrostatically co-assembled amine-functionalized mesoporous silica/metal oxide composite and graphene oxide, and subsequent silica removal to produce mesoporous metal oxide and N-doped macroporous graphene simultaneously is reported. Four mesoporous metal oxides (WO3-x, Co3O4, Mn2O3, and Fe3O4) are encapsulated in N-doped macroporous graphene. Used as an anode material for sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitors (Na-HSCs), mesoporous reduced tungsten oxide@ N-doped macroporous graphene (m-WO3-x@ NM-rGO) gives outstanding rate capability and stable cycle life. Ex situ analyses suggest that the electrochemical reaction mechanism of m-WO3-x@ NM-rGO is based on Na+ intercalation/de-intercalation. To the best of knowledge, this is the first report on Na+ intercalation/de-intercalation properties of WO3-x and its application to Na-HSCs.