Pore structure regulation of hierarchical porous carbon derived from coal tar pitch via pre-oxidation strategy for high-performance supercapacitor

Carbon materials with rational pore structure have attracted tremendous attention in high-performance supercapacitor applications. However, designing and constructing such carbon materials with excellent performances via a simple and low-cost route is still a challenge. Herein, the nitrogen self-doped oxygen-rich hierarchical porous carbons (OTSx-PC) derived from coal tar pitch are constructed via a facile strategy of air pre-oxidation-activation. The air pre-oxidation treatment can effectively regulate the small-sized mesopore structure (2-4 nm) of samples. The optimal OTS350-PC sample exhibits a high specific capacitance of 298 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1, and delivers a high energy density of 14.9 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 0.15 kW kg-1 with remarkable cycling stability in KOH aqueous electrolyte. This excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to its ultrahigh specific surface area (SSA, 2941 m2 g-1), huge total pore volume (Vt, 1.9 cm3 g-1), rational pore structure and reasonable heteroatom configuration, which ensure sufficient charge storage, rapid electrolyte ions diffusion, as well as the contributed pseudocapacitance. This research not only offers a facile route for high-value utilization of coal tar pitch but also provides the cost-effective and excellent porous carbons for supercapacitor with high performance.