Cicada slough-derived heteroatom incorporated porous carbon for supercapacitor: Ultra-high gravimetric capacitance

Abstract Heteroatom incorporated porous carbon from cicada slough, has been synthesized through a simple activation process. The cicada slough-based porous carbon has high potency of naturally-derived heteroatom functionalities (∼12.06% atomic ratio of nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus), well-developed microporosity and high specific surface area (1676 m2 g−1). Supercapacitor involves the as-obtained carbon as electrode material showing ultra-high specific capacitance of 355 F g−1 at the current density of 1 A g−1 and excellent rate capability of 284 F g−1 at 30 A g−1. The retention of specific capacitance of the working electrode remains over 90% after 3000 cycles at 10 A g−1. Single electrode in the symmetric-two-electrode test also delivers high specific capacitance of 274 F g−1 with the energy density up to ∼9.0 W h kg−1 in aqueous electrolyte. These outstanding results suggest the biomass derived porous carbon possessing the potential for the fabrication of high performance supercapacitors.