Easy approach to synthesize N/P/K co-doped porous carbon microfibers from cane molasses as a high performance supercapacitor electrode material

摘要

In this study, we demonstrate a simple and low cost method to synthesize N/P/K co doped porous carbon microfibers (CMFs) from a sugar-rich byproduct (cane molasses) as the precursor material. A two step method for the synthesis of N/P/K codoped porous CMFs involving electrospinning of precursor material followed by simple carbonization at various temperatures (773.15–1173.15 K) was successfully\udapplied. The N/P/K codoped porous CMFs exhibited high specific surface area (~580 m2 g1) and hierarchical porous structure. The potential application of N/P/K codoped porous CMFs as supercapacitor electrodes was investigated in a two electrode configuration employing aqueous K2SO4 solution and ionic liquids/acetonitrile (ILs/ACN) mixtures as the electrolytes. A series of electrochemical measurements include cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge discharge and cycling durability all\udconfirmed that the CMF 1073.15 supercapacitor exhibited good electrochemical performance with a specific capacitance of 171.8 F g1 at a current load of 1 A g1\udmeasured in 1.5 M tetraethylammonium tetra fluoroborate (TEABF4)/ACN electrolyte, which can be charged and discharged up to a cell potential of 3.0 V. The specific energy density and power density of 53.7 W h kg1 and 0.84 kW kg1 were achieved. Furthermore, the CMF 1073.15 supercapacitor showed excellent cycling performance with capacitance retention of nearly 91% after 2500 charge discharge cycles, characterizing its electrochemical robustness and stable capacitive performance