Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes by multistep pyrolysis process as a promising anode material for lithium ion hybrid capacitors

Abstract Lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LIHCs) is a promising electrochemical energy storage devices which combines the advantages of lithium-ion batteries and capacitors. Herein, we developed a facile multistep pyrolysis method, prepared an amorphous structure and a high-level N-doping carbon nanotubes (NCNTs), and by removing the Co catalyst, opening the port of NCNTs, and using NCNTs as anode material. It is shows good performance due to the electrolyte ions enter into the electrode materials and facilitate the charge transfer. Furthermore, we employ the porous carbon material (APDC) as the cathode to couple with anodes of NCNTs, building a LIHCs, it shows a high energy density of 173 Wh/kg at 200 W/kg and still retains 53 Wh/kg at a high power density of 10 kW/kg within the voltage window of 0–4.0 V, as well as outstanding cyclic life keep 80% capacity after 5000 cycles. This work provides an opportunity for the preparation of NCNTs, that is as a promising high-performance anode for LIHCs.