Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• Lignin-based porous carbons exhibit large specific surface area, easy doping, and high conductivity, making them promising electrode materials for supercapacitors. • Various synthesis strategies including chemical/physical activation, hydrothermal, and soft/hard template methods are employed to tailor pore structure and surface chemistry. • Modification with heteroatoms, metal oxides, metal sulfides, and conductive polymers enhances electrochemical performance and ion storage mechanisms. • Challenges remain in optimizing specific capacity and energy density; future research should focus on overcoming limitations of existing technologies.
Abstract
With the development of electronics and portable devices, there is a significant drive to develop electrode materials for supercapacitors that are lightweight, economical, and provide high energy and power densities. Lignin-based porous carbons have recently been extensively studied for energy storage applications because of their characteristics of large specific surface area, easy doping, and high conductivity. Significant progress in the synthesis of porous carbons derived from lignin, using different strategies for their preparation and modification with heteroatoms, metal oxides, metal sulfides, and conductive polymers is considered and their electrochemical performances and ion storage mechanisms are discussed. Considerable focus is directed towards the challenges encountered in using lignin-based porous carbons and the ways to optimize specific capacity and energy density for supercapacitor applications. Finally, the limitations of existing technologies and research directions for improving the performance of lignin-based carbons are discussed.
1. Introduction
With the development of the economy, the global energy demand has been increasing. But the heavy use of fossil fuels has led to depletion of energy resources and destruction of the atmosphere, which is why, to fix this, the most critical strategy is to reduce fossil fuel consumption and develop renewable energy. So, new clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and tidal power have been emerging rapidly, and efficient energy storage has also become a hot topic recently. This is because most clean energy generation is intermittent, so the energy storage device needs to balance fluctuations. In addition, development of electric vehicles has further intensified the research efforts on energy storage devices. As a result, new electrochemical energy storage devices (e.g., supercapacitors, alkali metal-ion batteries, metal-air battery etc.) have attracted much attention because of their advantages of high performance, low cost, long service life and good safety, and have been utilized in various fields such as portable electronic devices and electric vehicles.
Supercapacitor is an electrochemical capacitor that has high power density, large capacity and that does not decay significantly even after millions of cycles. It stores and releases energy by reversible desorption and adsorption of ions at the electrode-electrolyte interface. Supercapacitors can be mainly divided into 3 categories based on their energy storage mechanisms (Fig. 1): (1) Electric double layer capacitors (EDLC) store energy through electrostatic adsorption in the interface between electrodes and electrolyte. (2) Pseudocapacitors (PC) store energy through a rapid redox reaction on the surface of metal oxides or conductive polymers. (3) Hybrid supercapacitors (HSC), which currently are the mainstream of commercial supercapacitors. The most important thing for supercapacitor is the choice of electrode material, which influence their capacitance, energy density and other crucial attributes. So the development of superior electrode materials is an important aspect in preparing high-performance supercapacitors. Based on this background, a variety of electrode materials have been developed, especially porous carbon, which have received increased attention due to their excellent supercapacitive properties.
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ZHA Ding-chen, WANG Jia-heng, Hao Rui-xiang, Wu Yun-feng, LI Xiu-he, ZHAO Jia-wen, LI Wen, PIAO Wen-xiang, JIANG Nan-zhe (2025). Recent progress on the use of lignin-based porous carbon in supercapacitors. SinoTechIntel Verified Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-5805(NCM2025-40-01-02)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are lignin-based porous carbons?
Lignin-based porous carbons are carbon materials derived from lignin, a natural polymer, that possess a porous structure. They are characterized by large specific surface area, easy doping, and high conductivity, making them suitable for supercapacitor electrodes.
How are lignin-based porous carbons synthesized?
Lignin-based porous carbons are synthesized through various methods including chemical and physical activation, hydrothermal treatment, and soft or hard templating. These methods help create pores and tailor the surface chemistry for enhanced electrochemical performance.
What modifications improve the performance of lignin-based porous carbons in supercapacitors?
Modifications such as doping with heteroatoms (e.g., nitrogen, sulfur), and compositing with metal oxides, metal sulfides, or conductive polymers can significantly enhance the specific capacitance, energy density, and cycling stability of lignin-based porous carbon electrodes.
What are the main challenges in using lignin-based porous carbons for supercapacitors?
Challenges include optimizing the pore structure for ion transport, achieving high specific capacity and energy density, and scaling up production while maintaining cost-effectiveness. Future research aims to address these limitations through advanced synthesis and modification strategies.
Why are supercapacitors important for energy storage?
Supercapacitors offer high power density, long cycle life, and fast charge/discharge rates, making them ideal for applications requiring rapid energy storage and release, such as portable electronics and electric vehicles. They complement batteries by providing high power bursts.
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