Synthesis of layered microporous carbons from coal tar by directing, space-confinement and self-sacrificed template strategy for supercapacitors

It is a challenge to synthesize low-cost carbon materials with abundant pores by a simple route for supercapacitors. Herein, layered microporous carbons (LMPCs) with the specific surface area up to 1865   m 2   g −1 are fabricated from coal tar and melamine via a directing, space-confinement and self-sacrificed template strategy coupled with in-situ KOH activation. The button-type supercapacitor fabricated from LMPCs exhibits a high specific capacitance of 274   F   g −1 at 0.05   A   g −1 , a good rate performance of 191   F   g −1 at 20   A   g −1 and a superior cycle stability with 98.8% capacitance retention after 10000 cycles. This work presents a facile strategy for mass production of LMPCs from liquid polycyclic hydrocarbon molecules for supercapacitors.