Tailoring porous carbon aerogels from bamboo cellulose fibers for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

The synthesis and electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) application of hierarchical porous bio-carbons with micropores to macropores have attracted considerable attention due to the limited fuels and environmental issues. The dependence of EDLC performance on the microstructure, pore texture, electrical conductivity and surface functionality of porous carbon aerogels (PCAs) originating from bamboo cellulose, were investigated. The result demonstrates that the highest stability EDLC has excellent cycle life with 100% capacitance retention at 30,000th cycle, which is mainly attributed to a hierarchically porous structure of owning a large micropore volume and a small mean pore size instead of the highest specific surface area. The superior capacitance and rate capability are highly dependent on the surface area and pore volume of PCAs, which are improved by increasing both activation temperature and KOH mass. These results provide another view for developing renewable and high-stable supercapacitors based on porous carbon aerogels with a large micropore volume.