Designing hollow mesoporous carbon sphere for high-rate supercapacitor in water-in-salt electrolyte

The expansion of the operational voltage in supercapacitors (SCs) through the utilization of water-in-salt electrolytes (WISEs) has garnered considerable attention for achieving elevated energy density. However, the poor rate performance of assembled SCs persists due to the heightened viscosity of WISEs (e.g., 17.0 mol kg−1 NaClO4), so designing the porous structure of electrode materials to improve the rate performance of SC in WISEs has become a research focus. In this study, we present a straightforward approach to fabricate hierarchical porous carbon spheres, designing to expedite ion infilling and transport within WISE-based SCs. The hollow porous carbon is synthesized via one-step pyrolysis process, wherein the decomposition of inner colloid particles yields gases, while the outer resorcinol–formaldehyde resin carbonizes to form a spherical shell. In the WISE of 17.0 mol kg−1 NaClO4, the resulting symmetric SCs exhibit an operational voltage of 2.6 V and significantly improved rate capability with a capacitance retention of 47.7 % at 100 A g−1. Notably, the energy density can reach 31.0 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 2.4 kW kg−1. Even under high power density conditions of 120.0 kW kg−1, the energy density of 14.7 Wh kg−1 can remain. Additionally, the SC device manifests an impressive capacitance retention of 99.1 % after 20,000 cycles, showcasing exceptional cyclic stability. This research introduces a novel synthesis strategy for hierarchical porous carbon materials, enabling the development of high-rate SCs with both elevated energy density and power density.