Ultrahigh Surface\nArea Nanoporous Carbons Synthesized\nvia Hypergolic and Activation Reactions for Enhanced CO<sub>2</sub> Capacity and Volumetric Energy Density

We report a family of carbon sorbents\nsynthesized by\nintegrating\nhypergolics with activation reactions on a templated substrate. The\nmaterials design leads to nanoporous carbons with a BET area of 4800\nm<sup>2</sup> g<sup>–1</sup> with an impressive total pore\nvolume of 2.7 cm<sup>3</sup> g<sup>–1</sup>. To the best of\nour knowledge, this BET area value is the highest reported in the\nliterature. Electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements determined\nthe number of radicals in an effort to provide a mechanistic understanding\nof the formation of ultrahigh surface area carbons. In combination\nwith XPS, we propose a mechanism based on the synergistic effect between\nrim-based pentagonal rings and carbon radicals, which we believe can\nbe exploited to produce other highly porous carbons. The CO<sub>2</sub> capture capacity of the hyperporous carbon tested under dynamic\nCO<sub>2</sub> capture conditions was ∼1.25 mmol g<sup>–1</sup> versus 0.66 mmol g<sup>–1</sup> of a conventionally activated\ncarbon under similar conditions. The CO<sub>2</sub> capture kinetics\nwere extremely fast and reached 99% of the total capacity within 120\ns. Lastly, supercapacitor electrodes deliver a high volumetric energy\ndensity of ∼60 W h L<sup>–1</sup> and a volumetric power\ndensity of 1 kW L<sup>–1</sup>, which is the highest reported\nvalue for activated carbon.