Harnessing NaNH2 as a dual-function activator for synthesis of porous carbon and its impact on enhanced supercapacitor performance: a review

Abstract

The exploration of renewable energy in the twenty-first century emerged as the world-leading movement to support energy sustainability, leading to the paramount necessity for energy storage systems (ESSs). The porous carbon-derived electrode has been a long-pursued aim in supercapacitor applications, which feature their availability, renewability, environmental friendliness, rapid ion transport, and tunable surface chemistry. In this regard, chemical activation is one of the most highly praised and compatible strategies for synthesizing porous carbon in energy storage applications. Nevertheless, the most challenging issue to reconcile has been using environmentally hazardous, unsustainable activators. NaNH₂ emerges as a greener solution to the synthesis of porous carbon. Additionally, it presents as a dual-function activator, serving as a nitridation and activating agent. This dual role promotes the development of micropores and mesopores in the pore architecture and active sites for effective ion transport, highlighting the critical facets in the fabrication of supercapacitor electrode materials. Herein, this paper discussed the promising use of NaNH₂-activated porous carbon in electrochemical applications that covered the synthesis of porous carbon to the proposed activation mechanism, the impact of variations in design parameters, and the electrochemical properties of the resultant porous carbon. Ultimately, the recent challenges and future outlooks were comprehensively highlighted.