Pore structure improvement of lignin composite carbon aerogels by introducing manganese ion and its application in supercapacitors

With the introduction of manganese (Mn) ion, lignin composite carbon aerogels with improved pore structure were quickly prepared by a microwave assisted sol-gel method. The influence of the amount of manganese ion added on the pore structure of lignin composite carbon aerogel was investigated. The results show that the introduction ofMnion can significantly improve the pore structure of lignin composite carbon aerogels. The lignin composite carbon aerogels with the Mn ion amount of 5%, exhibit a high specific surface area (SSA) of 582 m(2) g(-1) and large total pore volume of 0.35 cm(3) g(-1), which are respectively up to 259.3% and 218.2% larger than the lignin composite carbon aerogels without Mn ion addition. Benefiting from the more-developed pore structure and synergetic effect, the as-obtained lignin composite carbon aerogels exhibit a high specific capacitance up to 186 F g(-1). In addition, the lignin composite carbon aerogels exhibit outstanding cycling stability. The specific capacitance retains 96% after 2000 cycles. The lignin composite carbon aerogels with improved pore structure show great potential for application in supercapacitors.