Heteroatom SiO2-N/S co-dopant on hierarchical meso/macroporous palm empty fruit bunches carbon for flexible solid-state supercapacitors

Research on heteroatom-doped porous carbon materials is growing in prominence due to their potential to enhance charge distribution and active sites. Currently, we are investigating the synergistic effect of self-SiO2 and heteroatom N/S co-dopant on porous carbon derived from empty fruit bunches (EFB) waste. Synthesized through a two-step hydrothermal and activation process, NSC600B-meso/macroporous carbon exhibits a high specific surface area (763.73 m2 g-1) directly linked to silicon and oxygen dopant concentrations. The samples exhibit an impressive specific capacitance of 448.29 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1, maintaining a commendable rate capability of 71.20 % at 10 A g-1. Flexible symmetric supercapacitors, after 10,000 cycles, retain a remarkable rate capability of 93 %, with the ability to bend up to 180 degrees. These findings underscore the essential role of the synergistic relationship between heteroatom dopants and hierarchical porous structures in addressing challenges related to supercapacitor rate capabilities and low kinetics.