Osmanthus fragrans-derived N-doped porous carbon for supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Biomass-derived carbon electrodes with precise and controllable biological structure have attracted more and more attention in recent years owing to their wide availability, renewability, and low cost. In this study, we used Osmanthus as a raw material in the preparation of nitrogen-doped porous carbon by using a simple carbonization/activation method. It was observed that the prepared biomass carbon had a three-dimensional hierarchical porous, including micropores and mesopores, and the highest specific surface area was 2078.3 m2 g−1. The electrochemical performance of Osmanthus fragrans mainly depends on its microporous/mesoporous performance. The specific capacitance of sample OC1-2 in a 3-M KOH electrolyte reached 351 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1; after 10000 cycles, the capacitance retention rate reached 93.51%. At a specific density of 700 W kg−1, the specific density reached 13.86 Wh kg−1. This study shows that Osmanthus fragrans-derived biomass porous carbon electrode material has great potential for energy storage.