Pore size distribution control of pitch-based activated carbon for improvement of electrochemical property

Activated carbon has been prepared using coal tar pitch as a precursor with a simple NaOH activation process. The effect of the activation on the porosity and the specific surface area is characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The highest specific surface area of $1409.7m^2g^{-1}$ is obtained with a NaOH to pitch ratio of 6. Its specific capacitance is $287.43F\;g^{-1}$ at the scan rate $50mV\;s^{-1}$, $197.78F\;g^{-1}$ at the current density $1A\;g^{-1}$, and it has outstanding energy density of $16.34Wh\;kg^{-1}$. Thus, pitch-based AC is a promising material for various energy storage devices.