Al-MOF-derived spindle-like hierarchical porous activated carbon for advanced supercapacitors

Dalton Trans. 2022 Feb 8;51(6):2538-2546. doi: 10.1039/d1dt03395f.

Abstract

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives have been widely used in electrochemistry due to their adjustable pore size and high specific surface area (SSA). Herein, a spindle-like hierarchical porous activated carbon (SPC) was synthesized through carbonizing the Al-BTEC precursor and then alkaline washing with NaOH. The fabricated SPC has a uniform shuttle-shaped structure, showing a large BET surface area of 1895 m2 g-1 and an average pore size of 2.4 nm. The SPC product displays a high specific capacitance (SC) of 337 F g-1 at 1 mV s-1 and 334 F g-1 at 1 A g-1. The retention of SC is about 95% after 100 000 cycles when the current density is 50 A g-1, indicating its excellent stability. Furthermore, the assembled symmetrical capacitor with a two-electrode system exhibits a high SC of 173 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and an energy density of 15.3 W h kg-1 at a power density of 336 W kg-1. This work would provide a new pathway to design and synthesize carbon materials for supercapacitors with excellent properties in the future.