Activation of mesocarbon microbeads with different textures and their application for supercapacitor

Three kinds of mesocarbon microbeads (MCMBs) with different textures were activated by potassium hydroxide at 900 °C and used as electrode materials for supercapacitor. The effects of textures of precursors on electrochemical performances of activated MCMBs were investigated. Nitrogen sorption measurements (at 77 K) showed that three kinds of activated MCMBs possess high specific surface areas (> 2000 m2/g) and different porosity characteristics. MCMB prepared by emulsion method from bulk mesophase pitch (MCMB-e) has an irregular and distorted lamellar structure of oriented aromatic hydrocarbons. The unique texture of MCMB-e leads to the largest specific surface area (2542.8 m2/g) and the highest micropore volume (0.8236 cm3/g) after activation. Galvanostatic charge–discharge results showed that the activated MCMB-e has the highest specific capacitance of 326 F/g at the current density of 20 mA/g and better rate capability in 6 M KOH electrolyte. The good capacitive behavior of the activated MCMB-e may be attributed to the high-surface area, abundant micropores, closed-packed mesopores and macropores, as well as moderate crystal structures.