Recently, enhancement of the energy density of a supercapacitor is restricted by the inferior capacitance of negative electrodes, which impedes the commercial development of high-performance symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitors. This article introduces the in situ bulk-quantity synthesis of hydrophilic, porous, graphitic sulfur-doped carbon nano-onions (S-CNO) using a facile flame-pyrolysis technique and evaluated its potential applications as a high-performance supercapacitor electrode in a symmetric device configuration. The high-surface wettability in the as-prepared state enables the formation of highly suspended active conducting material S-CNO ink, which eliminates the routine use of binders for the electrode preparation. The as-prepared S-CNO displayed encouraging features for electrochemical energy storage applications with a high specific surface area (950 m2 g-1), ordered mesoporous structure (∼3.9 nm), high S-content (∼3.6 at. %), and substantial electronic conductivity, as indicated by the ∼80% sp2 graphitic carbon content. The in situ sulfur incorporation into the carbon framework of the CNO resulted in a high-polarized surface with well-distributed reversible pseudosites, increasing the electrode-electrolyte interaction and improving the overall conductivity. The S-CNOs showed a specific capacitance of 305 F g-1, an energy density of 10.6 W h kg-1, and a power density of 1004 W kg-1 at an applied current density of 2 A g-1 in a symmetrical two-electrode cell configuration, which is approximately three times higher than that of the pristine CNO-based device in a similar electrochemical testing environment. Even at 11 A g-1, the S-CNO||S-CNO device rendered an energy density (6.1 W h kg-1) at a deliverable power density of 5.5 kW kg-1, indicating a very good rate capability and power management during peak power delivery applications. Furthermore, it showed a high degree of electrochemical reversibility with excellent cycling stability, retaining ∼95% of its initial capacitance after more than 10 000 repetitive charge-discharge cycles at an applied current density of 5 A g-1.
Keywords: carbon nano-onion; exohedral; graphitization; in situ sulfur doping; mesoporous; supercapacitor; thiophene.