Method for Manufacturing Nitrogen/Fluorine Co-Doped Hollow Carbon Spheres and Their Application in Supercapacitors

Nitrogen/Fluorine-Doped Hollow Carbon Sphere Electrode Materials Using Silica Templates and Fluoroaniline

This technology involves polymerizing aniline and fluorine-containing aniline on mesoporous silica to create a nitrogen/fluorine-doped polymer film. This film is then composited with a transition metal precursor, heat-treated, and the silica core is removed to produce nitrogen/fluorine co-doped hollow carbon spheres for supercapacitor electrodes.

While supercapacitors offer fast charge and discharge rates, they have historically been limited by lower energy storage capacity compared to batteries when relying solely on electric double-layer mechanisms. Polymer electrodes for pseudocapacitors, which increase capacity, are inexpensive and easy to process but suffer from limited oxidation states and poor long-term stability during repeated redox cycles.

This technology uses nitrogen and fluorine co-doping to alter the electron affinity of carbon, imparting redox properties, while the hollow sphere structure maximizes the surface-area-to-weight ratio to enhance both storage capacity and stability. By adjusting the ratio of the two aniline monomers and the use of transition metals like iron or cobalt, the fluorine content can be controlled, allowing for customized electrode performance. It is suitable for high-power supercapacitors, hybrid energy storage systems, and regenerative braking power buffers, serving as an electrode material that increases energy storage per unit weight while maintaining rapid charge and discharge capabilities.

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Key Features:

• Mixing and stirring a silica precursor with alcohol, water, and ammonia to produce mesoporous silica
• Dispersing the silica in an HCl solution, then adding and mixing aniline monomers and fluorine-containing aniline monomers
• Adding an oxidizing agent to form nitrogen/fluorine-containing polymer aniline on the silica particles, then mixing with a transition metal precursor and drying
• Heat-treating the polymer aniline and transition metal composite, then immersing it in a hydrofluoric acid solution to remove the silica core

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education for the development of reactant-selective electrochemical catalysts using carbon shells with chemical-physical functions.

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