A Green Approach to High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes: The Chemical Activation of Hydrochar with Potassium Bicarbonate

作者：Sevilla Marta; Fuertes Antonio B

来源：Chemsuschem, 2016, 9(14): 1880-1888.

DOI：10.1002/cssc.201600426

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Sustainable synthesis schemes for the production of porous carbons with appropriate textural properties for use as supercapacitor electrodes are in high demand. In this work a greener option to the widely used but corrosive KOH is proposed for the production of highly porous carbons. Hydrochar products are used as carbon precursors. It is demonstrated that a mild alkaline potassium salt such as potassium bicarbonate is very effective to generate porosity in hydrochar to lead to materials with large surface areas (&gt; 2000 m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> g<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>) and a tunable pore size distribution. Furthermore, the use of KHCO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> instead of KOH gives rise to a significant 10 % increase in the yield of activated carbon, and the spherical morphology of hydrochar is retained, which translates into better packing properties and reduced ion diffusion distances. These features lead to a supercapacitor performance that can compete with, and even surpass, that of KOH‐activated hydrochar in a variety of electrolytes.</jats:p>

• 出版日期2016-7-21