Organic solvent-assisted pore structure modulation in porous carbons for superior energy storage performance in supercapacitors

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2026

Abstract

The pore structure is a significant feature of porous carbons that accounts for their excellent performance in supercapacitors; however, the literature on pore modulation and cleansing is scarce. Here, a novel approach based on organic solvent-assisted pore modulation is reported to tune the pore hierarchy and local carbon-layer arrangement in porous carbons derived from waste biomass. The strategy involves adsorbing n-heptane into porous carbon at room temperature, thereby facilitating realignment of the carbon layers, improving pore hierarchy, and generating short-range graphitic domains. The solvent-assisted pore modulation, together with the high surface area and graphitization, led to a significant increase of 39.4% in specific capacitance, Csp (354 F g−1/0.5 A g−1) as compared to bare porous carbon (254 F g−1/0.5 A g−1). High energy and power densities of 6 Wh kg−1/10 A g−1 and 13,500 W kg−1/10 A g−1, along with a Csp of 105.22 F g−1/0.5 A g−1, are achieved for a two-electrode supercapacitor. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided insights into an improved pore structure and solvent-induced modulation of the electronic structure, enhancing ion transport and charge storage. This straightforward and promising organic solvent-assisted pore-modulation strategy provides a new route to tailoring pore architecture and short-range graphitic ordering in porous carbons without high-temperature graphitization or chemical functionalization, thereby creating a potentially new line of research in these materials for advanced electrochemical energy-storage applications.

Publication Title

Nano Energy

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