Catalytic Template Induces Carbon Material with High Microporosity and Large Pore Volume as Electrode Material for Supercapacitors

At the molecular level, it is challenging to create highly microporous carbon materials from inexpensive molecules rather than using the more common method of carbonization/activation of biomasses. In this study, we present a novel approach using a catalytic template to induce the formation of microporous carbon doped with N and O functionalities with 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) as a starting material and MgO as a catalyst. The resulting product, referred to as HMC, exhibits a hierarchical structure with a high microporosity of 59.8%, large pore volume of 1.22 cm³/g, along with rich N, O functionalities, and hydrophilic properties. Due to its highly microporous nature, as an electrode for a symmetric supercapacitor, HMC demonstrates superior energy storage capabilities in a 1.0 M TEABF₄/AN (tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate/acetonitrile) electrolyte, achieving a capacity of 135 F/g@ 1.0 A/g, high energy density of 75.1 Wh/kg at 2000 W/kg. Even at a superhigh power density of 40 kW/kg, the energy density remains as high as 67.8 Wh/kg. Moreover, HMC outperforms a well-known industrial carbon, YP-80F (Kuraray), and other recently reported carbon-based devices in terms of energy storage levels.