Coral-like carbon structures derived from the complex of metal-organic frameworks and melamine formaldehyde resin with ideal electrochemical performances

Coral-like carbon structures (CCSs) are successfully obtained by calcining the complex of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) and melamine formaldehyde resin at 750 °C. The as-prepared CCSs shows favorable structural advantages for application in supercapacitor electrode materials, including heteroatom doping, large pore volume (0.24 cm3/g), high specific surface area (200.63 m2/g), and interconnected pathways. Electrochemical measurements show ideal capacitance properties with a high gravimetric specific capacitance of 320 F/g at 1 A/g and excellent rate capability of 236 F/g (74% capacitance retention) at 10 A/g using 2 M H2SO4 as the aqueous electrolyte in a three-electrode test system. Furthermore, the CCSs show excellent cycling stability with 106% capacitive retention after 10000 cycles at 10 A/g. The energy density of 20.5 Wh/kg is also proved with 2 M H2SO4 as the electrolyte at a power density of 900 W/kg. The remarkable electrochemical properties and facile effective fabrication of CCSs point to a feasible and economical approach for the large-scale preparation of outstanding performance supercapacitors. [Display omitted]