Synthesis and electrochemical study of phosphorus-doped porous carbon for supercapacitor applications

In the present investigation, we report the incorporation of phosphorous (P) atoms in the activated carbon and study its effect on the electrochemical performance. Porous carbon is synthesized by the chemical activation method from a bioresource and then pretreated with nitric acid. Phosphorus atoms were doped by the simple chemical method. The obtained phosphorous-doped nano-materials show an appreciable change of porosity and creation of a more wide range of meso- and macropores, and this affects their adsorption and electrochemical performance. The electrochemical study shows that doped carbon obtained at 850 °C (ACtP-850) delivers the maximum specific capacitance (328 Fg−1) in neutral aqueous electrolyte (1 M Na2SO4). The doped carbon material not only exhibits good cycling performance but also the highest specific energy of 29 Wh kg−1 corresponding to a specific power of 646 W kg−1. The improved capacitive performance of phosphorous-doped porous carbon material proposes its use in energy storage applications.