One-Step Molecular Templating of Highly Boron-Doped Hierarchical Porous Carbons for High-Performance Supercapacitors

The use of boron-doped porous carbon as an electrode material for supercapacitors is a topic of significant research interest. However, its practical applications are often limited by insufficient doping levels and an unfavorable pore structure. This study proposes a novel methodology involving a one-step molecular templating process for synthesizing glucose-derived, boron-rich, hierarchical, and porous carbon (denoted BGC-5). This method uses a condensation reaction like esterification, which occurs between borate anions (B(OH)4–) and the hydroxyl functional groups of glucose. This enables the boron species to be efficiently and uniformly integrated into the carbon matrix. Optimized BGC-5 material achieves an impressive boron doping concentration of 4.99 at. %, primarily in the configurations of BC2O, BCO2, and COH. This is accompanied by well-defined hierarchical micro-mesopores, which enhance electrical conductivity and promote the transportation of electrolyte ions in the electrodes. Consequently, BGC-5 exhibits a high capacitance of 330 F g–1 at 0.5 A g–1, alongside excellent rate performance. When the current density increases to 20 A g–1, the electrode retains 79.4% of its capacitance. This synthetic strategy offers a viable approach to constructing high-performance boron-doped carbon for advanced energy storage applications.