Cotton-derived carbon fibers with high specific capacitance by ZnCl2 activation for supercapacitor application

Abstract

Abstract.Cotton, an inexpensive natural product, was used as a precursor for fabrication of high specific capacitance porous carbon fibers for spercapacitors. Porous carbon fibers with the hollow structure, high surface area of 1620 m 2 g -1 and high content of C=O functional group are prepared by one-step carbonization and activation using ZnCl 2 as activation agent. The maximum specific capacitance of porous carbon fibers activated at a ZnCl 2 /cotton mass ratio of 2:1 is measured to be 426.7 F g -1 at a current density 0.6 A g -1 . The tubular structure, high surface area, and high content of oxygen functional groups are responsible for the excellent electrochemical performance.