Tremella-like hierarchical carbon derived from carbon dots through sponge-templated synthesis for supercapacitor electrodes

Abstract

Carbon-based electrical double-layer capacitors have considerable attention due to their long cycle life and high power density. However, it remains a challenge to prepare desirable electrode materials for electrical double layer capacitors through simplified methods. Herein, a tremella-like hierarchical porous carbon material is synthesized via a simple, versatile, and eco-friendly template method using ultra-small and low-cost carbon dots as the carbon source and the sponge as the scaffold. Due to the high specific surface area (2144.6 m2/g), unique structure, and abundant structural defects, the resulting tremella-like hierarchical porous carbon show a high specific capacitance of 148 F/g at 1 A/g and long-term cycling stability with 86.2% of the initial capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 5 A/g. The study provides a facile and efficient strategy for the construction of electrode materials in supercapacitors.