Rapid preparation of P/O doped nano-porous carbon by microwave method for high-performance supercapacitors

This paper proposes a simple and rapid microwave-assisted phosphorus-oxygen doped porous carbon (P/O-PC) preparation strategy is proposed using potassium citrate, Phytic acid (PA), and ethanol under air atmosphere. PA can be used as both a phosphorus source and a microwave absorbing agent. The P/O-PC500–0.75 has a large specific surface area of 905 cm2/g. P/O doping introduces defects into the carbon structure, which enhances the capacitance of the porous carbon. The P/O-PC500–0.75 demonstrates excellent capacitance values of 330 F/g and 389.4 F/g in 6.0 M KOH and 1.0 M H2SO4, respectively (1 A/g). In addition, the symmetrical supercapacitors assembled with the P/O-PC500–0.75 exhibit good electrochemical stability over 5000 cycles at 5 A/g, with a capacitance loss of only 3.6%. This microwave-assisted strategy offers simplicity in operation and low energy consumption, providing a new and efficient pathway to prepare carbon materials in a fast and simple manner.