Preparation of Porous Activated Carbon Materials and Their Application in Supercapacitors

Porous carbon materials (PCMs) possess highly developed pore structure, and their pore size can range from molecular size to nano-size to large pores within micron size. As versatile materials with excellent physical and chemical properties such as large specific surface area, lightweight, high chemical stability, and electrical conductivity, PCMs have shown excellent application prospects in the fields of catalysis, adsorption, hydrogen storage, and energy storage. With the consumption of fossil energy and the rapid development of science and technology, the demands for high-performance supercapacitors are increasing day by day. PCMs are excellent electrode materials for supercapacitors. There are many methods to prepare PCMs, among which activation is the most widely used method. The activation methods can be divided into physical activation, chemical activation, and self-activation according to the activator used. In this chapter, the capacitance performance of PCMs synthesized via the activation process is summarized. The pore structure optimization process and the influence of pore structure on the capacitance performance of PCMs are also discussed. It is expected that this chapter could offer some enlightenments to the researchers’ focus on improving the capacitance performance of PCMs.