NiCo2O4 used as a loading material to improve the capacitive performance of nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel

Licorice residue, a considerable amount of biomass waste discarded during the excellent extraction process of traditional Chinese medicine every year, is a potential low-cost and green material for the synthesis of porous carbon material. In this work, spinel phase NiCo 2 O 4 nanosheets were produced on the licorice residue-derived nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel (LNCA) using simple hydrothermal and calcination methods. LNCA was first prepared from the carbonation of freeze-dried licorice residue aerogel, which was subsequently utilized to prepare an LNCA/NiCo 2 O 4 composite employing hydrothermal reaction and annealing treatment. As a consequence of its properties, the as-prepared hybrid electrode exhibited ultrahigh capacitance specific capacity (956 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 ) and long-term stability. This work provides some new insights on the preparation of biomass-derived porous carbon for application in supercapacitors, as well as multifaced considerations. Graphical abstract