1D nanorod-like porous carbon with simultaneous high energy and large power density as a supercapacitor electrode material

Abstract

A kind of 1D nanorod-like porous carbon PCPAC-2 with a length of about 0.5–2 μm and width of around 100–300 nm was synthesized by pyrolysis of a porous coordination polymer as a carbon source and structure template followed by KOH activation. The PCPAC-2 possesses a high specific BET surface of about 679 m² g⁻¹ and a total pore volume of 1.63 cm³ g⁻¹. When serving as a supercapacitor electrode active material, the highest specific capacitance of 306 F g⁻¹ was obtained at 1 A g⁻¹. The specific capacitance of 205 F g⁻¹ could be preserved at the large current density of 30 A g⁻¹. The high cyclic stability with 96% capacitance retention was obtained after 5000 charge–discharge cycles at 1 A g⁻¹. Moreover, the maximum energy density of 17.6 W h kg⁻¹ could be found at the power density of 272.2 W kg⁻¹, and the energy density of 10 W h kg⁻¹ could be obtained at the high power density of 7530 W kg⁻¹ in 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte.