Activated carbon is a type of conventional and commercially available porous carbon materials. Activated carbon possesses high surface area, tunable pore structure and surface chemistry, high stability in physicochemical features, and good electricity conductivity. As a result, activated carbon has been not only widely applied in many fields of environmental protection, chemical engineering, food and pharmaceutical industry, but also shows novel functions in electric charge storage and fuel catalytic conversion and thus exhibits great potential to be used as elec-trodes of new energy devices including supercapacitors and fuel cells. This review focused on activated carbons as e-lectrodes of supercapacitors and fuel cells, considering that activated carbons are the only carbon materials to be com-mercially used in supercapacitor so far. In the aspect of supercapacitors in which activated carbons play a role in sto-ring electric charges, we have reviewed the contents including the application history and the main preparation methods of activated carbon as the electrodes of supercapacitors, and the effect of surface functional groups of activa-ted carbon on the electrochemical properties. In particular, the preparation methods were focused on the common acti-vation approaches of gases, chemicals and alkali metal compounds for preparation of supercapacitor activated carbons. The oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus containing functional groups were evaluated for their effect on the charge storage capacity of activated carbons. In the aspect of fuel cells, activated carbons mainly function as an electrochemi-cal catalyst of oxygen reduction reaction that is a general cathodic reaction of various fuel cells. We have reviewed the application of activated carbons in alkaline fuel cells, proton exchange membrane fuel cells and microbial fuel cells. Moreover, an emphasis was placed on the effect of various nitrogen-containing groups on electrochemical catalytical activity of activated carbons, and their catalytic mechanism was introduced as well. Finally, the research work in the future were proposed on activated carbons as novel energy materials.%活性炭是一类传统的、可工业化生产的多孔质炭材料,由于它具有高的比表面积,可调的孔隙结构与表面化学性质、稳定的物理化学性质以及良好的导电性,因此,活性炭不仅在环保、化工、食品和医药等领域中得到广泛应用,而且具有储存电能和电催化转化燃料的潜力,在超级电容器和燃料电池等新型能源器件领域显示出巨大的应用前景.笔者综述了活性炭作为超级电容器和燃料电池电极材料的主要研究进展.在超级电容器方面,活性炭是作为储存电能的材料,主要综述了活性炭作为超级电容器电极材料的应用历史,气体活化法、化学药品活化法、碱金属活化法等常规方法制备的活性炭储存电能的性能,活性炭表面含氧、氮、硫和磷表面官能团对超级电容器活性炭电化学性能的影响规律,活性炭表面改性技术在超级电容器活性炭方面的应用.在燃料电池方面,活性炭是作为阴极反应的催化剂材料,主要综述了活性炭作为碱性燃料电池、质子交换膜燃料电池和微生物燃料电池阴极材料的研究现状,炭材料催化燃料电池的阴极反应,即氧气还原反应的表面结构特点与反应机理.通过分析总结,明确了活性炭作为新型能源材料的未来发展方向.
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