Coal tar pitch-based porous carbon by one dimensional nano-sized MgO template

Porous carbons are derived by carbonizing coal tar pitch with one dimension non-silica template (needle-like nano-sized MgO). The samples are characterized by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K and XRD analysis. The electrochemical performances for supercapacitor are evaluated in a 6 M KOH aqueous solution. The results show that the as-prepared porous carbons possess abundant mesopores of 3.7–6.5 nm. With air stabilization process, the samples possess more micropores, contributing nearly 50% of surface areas. The porous carbon with large template content through air stabilization possess a high surface area of 864 m2 g−1. For supercapacitors electrode material, the porous carbon shows a high capacity and excellent power performance, retaining 100 F g−1 even at a current density of 30 A g−1.