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Abstract

Porous carbons are essential for capacitive energy storage due to their large surface area, tunable pore size and composition, good conductivity, and stability. Efficient synthesis of high surface-area porous carbons with high yield is crucial for large-scale applications. Traditional activation and templating are unsatisfactory due to harsh chemicals and complex processes. Self-templating via direct pyrolysis of metallic organic salts offers a promising alternative, but results in low yields (< 4%) and limited surface areas (< 2000 m²/g). This thesis explores cesium salts of carboxylic acids as self-templating precursors to enhance both yield and surface area of porous carbons. Using cesium acetate as the sole precursor results in porous carbons with high surface areas up to 3000 m²/g and pore volume up to 2 cm³/g. Cesium maleates further increase yields to 25% while maintaining surface areas around 3000 m²/g. Cesium ion intercalation is the primary activation mechanism. Adjusting the mass ratio of uric acid to cesium acetate yields porous carbons with varying pore sizes, maintaining similar compositions and surface areas. These porous carbons exhibit high capacity and cycling stability in supercapacitor, Zn-ion, or Na-ion capacitors. Supermicropores are crucial for high capacity, while mesopores improve rate performance and cycling stability. Overall, this thesis shows how cesium revolutionize carbon science, offering a facile synthesis process, lower temperatures, large surface areas, and tunable porosities.