Two-Step Preparation of Hierarchical Porous Carbon Materials Derived from Tannin for Use as an Electrode Material for Supercapacitors

The development and utilization of biomass and agroforestry processing byproducts for high-value applications have been an important topic in the field of renewable materials research.Based on this,a two-step microwave hydrothermal pre-carbonization and KOH activation method was proposed to synthesize tannin-based activated carbons with a high specific surface area,hierarchical pore structure,and good electrochemical performance.The microstructure,texture properties,and physicochemical characteristics were investigated.The results show that the prepared tannin-based activated carbons presented a hierarchical pore structure(micro-and mesopores)with a specific surface area as high as 997.46 m^(3) g^(−1).The electrochemical analysis shows that the tannin-based activated carbons have good wettability and charge transfer rates.Under the three-electrode system with 6 M KOH as the electrolyte,the active material TAC_(600-4) had a maximum specific capacitance of 171 F g^(−1)at 0.5 A g^(−1).As the current density increases to 10 A g^(−1),the specific capacitance can still be maintained at 149 F g^(−1),indicating a good rate capability.Therefore,the specific surface area and pore size of tannin-based activated carbons can be effectively adjusted by the alkali/carbon ratio,making it a promising supercapacitor electrode material and providing a new method for the high-value development of tannins in the field of electrochemical energy storage.