Waste asphalt derived hierarchically porous carbon for high-performance electrocatalytic hydrogen gas capacitors

• Waste asphalt is successfully converted into hierarchically porous carbon (HPC) with a high surface area of 1943.4 m²/g, enabling high-performance electrocatalytic hydrogen gas capacitors (EHGCs). • The HPC-based EHGC operates in pH-universal aqueous electrolytes, achieving specific energy/power densities of 57 Wh/kg and 554 W/kg in neutral, and 52 Wh/kg and 657 W/kg in acidic electrolytes. • The device exhibits excellent stability with 100% capacitance retention over 20,000 cycles at 10 A/g in acidic electrolyte, outperforming commercial materials. • This work provides a sustainable solution by repurposing waste asphalt, simultaneously addressing environmental waste issues and advancing next-generation energy storage technology.