Hierarchical porous structures with surface nitrogen-doped porous carbon are current research topics of interest for high performance supercapacitor electrode materials. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) honeycomb-like porous carbon with interconnected hierarchical porosity and nitrogen self-doping was synthesized by simple and cost-efficient one-step KOH activation from waste cottonseed husk (a-CSHs). The obtained a-CSHs possessed hierarchical micro-, meso-, and macro-pores, a high specific surface area of 1694.1 m²/g, 3D architecture, and abundant self N-doping. Owing to these distinct features, a-CSHs delivered high specific capacitances of 238 F/g and 200 F/g at current densities of 0.5 A/g and 20 A/g, respectively, in a 6 mol/L KOH electrolyte, demonstrating good capacitance retention of 84%. The assembled a-CSHs-based symmetric supercapacitor also displayed high specific capacitance of 52 F/g at 0.5 A/g, with an energy density of 10.4 Wh/Kg at 300 W/Kg, and 91% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at 10 A/g.
Keywords: cotton seed husk; hierarchical structure; nitrogen doping; porous carbon; supercapacitor; sustainable biomass; three-dimensional architecture.