Phosphoric Acid-assisted Pretreatment Strategy for the Rational Synthesis of Lignin-derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon Toward High-performance Supercapacitors

In this article, a facile two-step activation method, coupled with phosphoric acid(H3PO4)-assisted pretreatment and followed KOH activation,was reported for constructing hierarchical porous carbon(HPC) materials derived from lignin. The introduction of H3PO4, cross-linked with lignin sources generated phosphate(and/or polyphosphate) ester groups throughout the lignin structure, which endowed the pre-activated intermediate char(IC)with a hierarchical porous structure. Such phosphate esters contributed to the multi-scale pore structure within the pre-activated IC, which was beneficial for the uniform distribution and impregnation of subsequent KOH activators,thus leading to the formation of HPC materials. The as-prepared HPC exhibited a large specific surface area(SSA) of 1345.1 m2/g, which ensures the accessibility of the ion diffusion pathways. The supercapacitors integrated with HPC delivered a high specific capacitance of 241 F/g(in a threeelectrode system) and outstanding rate capability with an 80.9% capacitance retention from 0.5 A/g to an ultra-high current density of 50 A/g.