N, O and P co-doped honeycomb-like hierarchical porous carbon derived from Sophora japonica for high performance supercapacitors

Novel N, O and P co-doped honeycomb-like hierarchically porous carbon (N-O-P-HHPC) materials with a large specific surface area from Sophora japonica were prepared via a one-step activation and carbonization method and used as an electrode for supercapacitors. The results indicate that as-prepared N-P-HHPC with a large specific surface area (2068.9 m2 g−1) and N (1.5 atomic%), O (8.4 atomic%) and P (0.4 atomic%) co-doping has a high specific capacitance of 386 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. Moreover, a 1.8 V symmetrical SC was assembled from the N-O-P-HHPC-3 electrode using 1 M Na2SO4 gel electrolyte, presenting a high energy density (28.4 W h kg−1 at 449.9 W kg−1) and a long life cycling stability with only 7.3% capacitance loss after 10 000 cycles. Furthermore, the coin-type symmetrical SC using EMIMBF4 as electrolyte presents an ultrahigh energy density (80.8 W h kg−1 at 1500 W kg−1). When the two coin-type symmetrical SCs are connected in series, eight red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a small display screen can be powered. These results demonstrate as-prepared N, O and P co-doped HHPC is a considerable candidate as a carbon electrode for energy storage devices.