Facile synthesis of three-dimensional porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitors

Porous activated carbon (PAC) with three-dimensionally (3D) interconnected structure has been successfully synthesized using sucrose and potassium hydroxide as carbon source and pore-forming agent, respectively. On account of its hierarchically porous structure and high specific surface area (1615 m2 g−1), the synthesized porous carbon displays a maximal specific capacitance of 119 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a capacitance retention rate of 81.2% after 5000 cycles at 20 A g−1 in 1 M TEABF4/AN electrolyte. It also exhibits a maximal specific capacitance of 178 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and a capacitance retention rate of 88.9% after 10000 cycles at 16 A g−1 in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. Moreover, the fabricated symmetric supercapacitor reveals a high energy density, 16.52 W h Kg−1 in 1 M TEABF4/AN and 15.78 W h Kg−1 in 1 M Na2SO4. Such an excellent supercapacitive performance implies that the prepared activated carbon with 3D interconnected porous structure could be potentially used for high performance energy storage device.