Supercapacitive hybrid materials from the thermolysis of porous coordination nanorods based on a catechol porphyrin†
Abstract
Synthesis of a series of porous coordination polymers with nanorod morphology constructed from a catechol-substituted porphyrin[meso-tetrakis(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)porphyrin] is reported. While the coordination polymers had moderate surface areas (100–400 m2 g−1), their thermolysis in an inert atmosphere led to carboniferous materials with large surface areas (up to 800 m2 g−1), containing metal oxide nanoparticles. Capacitance measurements (by electrochemical charge–discharge and cyclic voltammetry) of the resulting hybrid materials revealed that these hybrid nanomaterials exhibit high (super) capacitances (up to 380 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) with good cycling properties. The results demonstrate the utility of using porphyrin coordination polymers for the preparation of hybrid supercapacitor materials and also indicate that these carbon–metal oxide nanoparticle materials are promising for energy storage applications.