Molten salt-confined pyrolysis towards carbon nanotube-backboned microporous carbon for high-energy-density and durable supercapacitor electrodes

Abstract

The development of a green and scalable construction of a three-dimensional (3D) hierarchically porous carbon as an electrode material for supercapacitors is promising but challenging. Herein, a carbon nanotube-backboned microporous carbon (CNT-MPC) was prepared by molten salt-confined pyrolysis, during which the salt eutectics simultaneously acted as a high-temperature reaction solvent and reusable template. Among the CNT-MPC, the CNT backbone provided a 3D conductive framework, whereas the MPC sheath possessed integrated mesopores and micropores as an efficient ion reservoir. As a result, the as-obtained CNT-MPC exhibited a high specific capacitance of 305.6 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, high energy density of 20.5 W h kg−1 and excellent cyclic stability with no capacitance losses after 50 000 cycles. The molten-salt confined pyrolysis strategy therefore provides a low-cost, environmentally-friendly and readily industrialized route to develop a hierarchically porous carbon that is highly required for high-energy-density and durable supercapacitors.