Nitrogen and sulfur-codoped porous carbon derived from zein/poly(ionic liquid) complexes as electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor

In this study, nitrogen and sulfur-codoped porous carbon material (ZC) was prepared via carbonization of the complex of hydrophobic poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) and zein through electrostatic interaction. The structure and morphology of ZCs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis showed that ZCs were mainly mesoporous, and the pore size was in a narrow dispersity. The surface area of ZC-10 could be as high as 764 m 2  g −1 , and the total pore volume was 0.41 cm 3  g −1 . Remarkably, the specific capacitance of the electrode prepared by ZC-10 was 338 F g −1 in 2.0 M KOH at a current density of 0.1 A g −1 and presented excellent cycle stability. After 5000 cycles, the specific capacitance still remained stable. Therefore, our finding suggested a facile strategy for the fabrication of porous carbon materials with high capacitance performance through PIL and biomacromolecule composites. Considering their easy preparation and biomass source, ZCs are of great potential in the future applications of electronic devices and systems.