Facile fabrication of 3D hierarchically porous carbon foam as supercapacitor electrode material

Abstract

A hierarchically porous 3D starch-derived carbon foam (SCF) with a high specific surface area (up to 1693 m2·g-1) was first prepared by a facile solvothermal treatment, in which Na2CO3 is used as both the template and activating agent. The hierarchically porous structure and high specific area endow the SCF with favorable electrochemical properties such as a high specific capacitance of 179.6 F·g-1 at 0.5 A·g-1 and a great rate capability and cycling stability, which suggest that the material can be a promising candidate for energy storage applications.