Preparation of coralline-like nitrogen-doped porous carbon by urea-assisted pyrolysis of low-cost and environmental friendly polyaniline

Nitrogen-doped coralline-like structure porous carbon (NC-PANI) was prepared through a simple urea-assisted pyrolysis of low-cost and environmental friendly polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers. The urea acts as nitrogen donor and activating agent in the PANI carbonization, to generate the porous carbon with high nitrogen content (10.08 wt %), high surface area (673.7 m 2 /g), and suitable pore size. In addition, the electrical conductivity of NC-PANI is better than that of pristine PANI. With such intrinsic characteristics, the as-prepared novel NC-PANI is highly desirable for energy storage and conversion applications. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 840–846, 2016