One-step induced porous graphitic carbon sheets as supercapacitor electrode material with improved rate capability

Abstract

In the present study, we report the synthesis of porous graphitic carbon sheets (GCS) from tissue paper by in-situ chemical activation process. The resulting GCS material characterized with high graphitic structure and high specific surface area (1684 m2 g−1). When GCS-2 electrode tested for supercapacitor application, it delivers a high specific capacitance of 212 F g−1, high capacitance retention of 85% at high current density of 50 A g−1 and outstanding cyclic stability (90% capacity retention after 10,000 cycles). The fabricated supercapacitor cells were also demonstrated for lightening 40 LEDs. The high electrochemical performance of GCS can be attributed to the high specific surface area, large pore volume and graphitic nature of the carbon. Thus, the simple and unique strategy employed in the present study can be extended to synthesize carbon materials from other economic carbon precursors suitable for other energy storage applications.