Soybean root-derived N, O co-doped hierarchical porous carbon for supercapacitors

3D hierarchical porous soybean root-derived carbon (SRC) is successfully developed from N, O-contained natural soybean root through a convenient one-step carbonization activation route. SRC own abundant hierarchical pores, great specific surface area and considerable N and O elements. As-prepared carbon-based electrode exhibits specific capacitance of 269.4 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) and capacitance retention (97% after 20,000 charge and discharge cycles), while assembled symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) has an operating voltage window of 2.0 V and energy density of 23.0 Wh kg(-1) at the power density of 500 W kg(-1). This work makes natural soybean root be utilized as 3D heteroatom-doped carbon and provide another alternative strategy for high-performance electrode materials.

Automated summary

The study developed a 3D hierarchical porous carbon derived from natural soybean roots, which exhibited abundant hierarchical pores, large specific surface area, and high specific capacitance. The carbon material showed potential for application as high-performance electrode materials.