Synthetic Porous Carbons for High-Energy, High-Power Supercapacitors

Porous carbons are premier electrode materials for supercapacitors, yet overcoming the tradeoff between energy and power density remains a fundamental challenge. Guided by the overarching goal of achieving simultaneously high energy and high power, significant progress has been made in the design of advanced carbon materials, accompanied by a deepened mechanistic understanding of electrochemical charge storage at complex interfaces. This Review provides a comprehensive and critical overview of key advances in synthetic porous carbons (SPCs) developed by the broader research community, with an emphasis on materials derived from well-defined molecular and polymeric precursors. Bottom-up synthetic strategies that enable precise control over the pore structure and surface chemistry are highlighted. We summarize fundamental charge storage mechanisms and discuss how hierarchical porosity and heteroatom doping can be rationally engineered to balance energy and power performance. Emerging synthetic methodologies, machine-learning-guided materials design, and advanced in situ and operando characterization techniques are identified as key enablers of predictive and scalable carbon design. These insights outline pathways toward next-generation supercapacitors capable of simultaneous fast charging and high-energy storage.