In-situ activation of resorcinol-furfural resin derived hierarchical porous carbon for supercapacitors and zinc-ion hybrid capacitors

Biomass carbon material is a promising energy storage electrode material. However, the universality of high-performance carbon-based electrodes is often constrained by their complex preparation methods. Here, resorcinol and biomass furfural are used to prepare resorcinol-furfural resin, and an adequate amount of potassium hydroxide is in situ anchored during the curing process. Through a one-step carbonization-activation strategy, three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon material with high specific surface area is prepared. The material exhibits satisfactory specific capacitance of 291 F g−1 at a current rate of 0.1 A g−1. The assembled symmetrical device shows impressive energy density of 18.5 Wh kg−1. The device exhibits a remarkable cycling stability with a capacitance retention as high as 96 % after 50,000 charge-discharge cycles. Interestingly, the assembled zinc-ion hybrid capacitor (0.2–1.8 V) achieves a satisfactory capacity of 101 mAh g−1 and a higher energy density of 79 Wh kg−1. This work provides a new approach for the simple preparation of carbon materials and the high value-added utilization of biomass.