Carbon Nanotube@N-Doped Mesoporous Carbon Composite Material for Supercapacitor Electrodes.

Here, carbon nanotube@N-doped mesoporous carbon (CNT@N-PC) composites were synthesized by using resorcinol-formaldehyde resin as carbon source, ionic liquids (ILs) as template, and nitrogen sources and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as assistant agent. The use of ILs-modified CNT with nitrogen and TEOS facilitated the generation of a richer mesoporous structure. The obtained CNT@N-PC was composed of a CNT core and mesoporous carbon particles around it. CNT@N-PC showed a 3D network structure like "dewy cobwebs" and had a high surface area of 857 m2  g-1 , uniform pore size distribution (3.0 nm), and suitable N content (4.9 at.%). When used as supercapacitor electrode, the CNT@N-PC exhibited a high specific capacitance (244 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 ), good rate capability and favorable capacitance retention (92.5 % capacitive retention after 5000 cycles), demonstrating the potential for application in high-performance supercapacitors.