Nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon derived from ZIF-8 supported on carbon aerogels with advanced performance for supercapacitor

[Display omitted] •ZIF-8 derived porous carbon is supported on carbon aerogels derived from chitosan.•The composite possesses hierarchical porous structure with moderate N contents.•The composite has an ultrahigh specific surface area of 3075.5 m2/g.•The composite yields a large specific capacitance and outstanding cycling stability. In this study, chitosan was used to prepare nitrogen-doped carbon aerogels (CAs) anchored by ZIF-8 derived porous carbon (ZIF-8-C) using a facile in-situ deposition method combined with subsequent carbonization. CAs possessing a 3D mesoporous structure with interlaced nanosheets can be used as the skeleton for growth of ZIF-8 derived microporous carbon. The coexistence of mesopores and micropores can not only create more channels for electrolyte ions accessing, but also can provide electrical-double-layer capacitance. The results of electrochemical performance revealed that the ZCCA composite electrode shows the large specific capacitance of 241.6 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g in 2.0 M KOH electrolyte and superior cycle performance (capacity retention of 90% after 5000 cycles). The improvement in the electrochemical properties is owed to its hierarchically porous structure, ultrahigh specific surface area and moderate nitrogen contents. The preparation method offers the smart design of CAs-supported MOF-derived material for high-performance energy storage applications.