Larch-derived hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon with echinus-like architecture for supercapacitor applications

Echinus-like nitrogen-doped carbon with a hierarchical porous structure was synthesized from green larch waste and urea via liquid in situ doping and high-temperature carbonization. Benefitting from a large specific surface area (649 m2 g−1) and hierarchical porous structure, the nitrogen-doped carbon exhibited excellent electrochemical performance for supercapacitors. Remarkably, the echinus-like nitrogen-doped carbon achieved a high specific capacitance of 340 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte as well as a good performance rate and stability (with a capacitance retention of 98% after 5000 cycles). This capacitance was almost 1.5 times higher than that of undoped carbon due to the contribution of the pseudocapacitance from the nitrogen doping. Larch sawdust is a promising carbon source for fabricating inexpensive, sustainable and high-performance supercapacitor materials.