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

Authors

• Jibi Kunjumon, The University of Newcastle, Australia
• Gurwinder Singh, The University of Newcastle, Australia
• Ajanya M. Ruban, The University of Newcastle, Australia
• Harleen Kaur, The University of Newcastle, Australia
• Alan Larson, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• Ranjit Pati, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• et al.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2026

Department

Department of Physics

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.

Publisher's Statement

© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Publisher’s version of record: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2026.112362

Publication Title

Nano Energy

Recommended Citation

Kunjumon, J., Singh, G., Ruban, A., Kaur, H., Larson, A., Pati, R., & et al. (2026). Organic solvent-assisted pore structure modulation in porous carbons for superior energy storage performance in supercapacitors. Nano Energy, 158. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2026.112362
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/2958

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF