Synthesis and properties of P-doped mesoporous carbon

The modification of mesoporous carbon (MC) with phosphoric acid as the phosphorus source is an effective mean of increasing the electroactive center. In this study, phosphorus was successfully introduced into the MC framework through a simple water-phase self-assembly process. The prepared phosphorus-doped mesoporous carbon (PMC) material had a high phosphorus content (2.21 at%). It showed a high specific capacitance of 231 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 in a three-electrode system. Compared with pure MC (154 F g−1), the electrochemical double-layer capacitance (EDLC) performance of PMC has been greatly improved because of its higher content of electrocatalytic active centers, granting it the potential of becoming an ideal high-performance electrode material.Graphical abstract