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Structure and electrochemical performance of highly porous carbons by single-step potassium humate carbonization for application in supercapacitors

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Abstract

This paper presents the direct synthesis of highly porous carbons via the carbonization of potassium humate in inert atmosphere without any activation. Carbonization temperature is important for carbon structures and their electrochemical performance in electric double-layer capacitors. The CK800 material derived from potassium humate has a high–specific surface area of 890 m2 g−1 and an ideal average pore size of 2.56 nm. The CK800 material can also deliver a high-specific capacitance of 232 F g−1 (26.1 µF cm−2) at a constant charge/discharge current of 0.5 A g−1. This capacitance is maintained at a value of 114 F g−1 (12.8 µF cm−2) at 30 A g−1. This material also has good cycle stability with over 93.5 % capacitance retention after 5000 cycles when measured in a three-electrode system using 6 M KOH as electrolyte. In this study, the CK800 material is tested in a three-electrode system using 1 M NaHCO3 as electrolyte. Operational voltage in 1 M NaHCO3 aqueous solution could be extended up to 1.3 V.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Nos. 21364004 and 51462020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Petrochemical Technology, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, China

    HeMing Luo, YanFei Yang, YanZheng Chen, JianQiang Zhang & Xia Zhao

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  1. HeMing Luo
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  2. YanFei Yang
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  5. Xia Zhao
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Correspondence to HeMing Luo.

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Luo, H., Yang, Y., Chen, Y. et al. Structure and electrochemical performance of highly porous carbons by single-step potassium humate carbonization for application in supercapacitors. J Appl Electrochem 46, 113–121 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-015-0894-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-015-0894-0

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