Upgrading commercial plastics for high-yield production of porous carbon electrode materials

The recycling of commercial plastics can decrease dependence on fossil fuels. The preparation of carbon electrode materials from commercial plastics can enable the upgrading of waste plastics. Converting low-recycled commercial plastics to value-added porous carbon materials showed great potential toward low-carbon development. However, the conversion of commercial plastics to porous carbon has low yields during pyrolysis and chemical activation. We employed CuCl₂ as a chemical activator and typical commercial plastics to prepare porous carbon, which achieved high yields exceeding 45%. The release of hydrocarbons during the pyrolysis of commercial plastics is inhibited by the dehydrogenation effect of the CuCl₂ activator, while the carbon-rich structure is stabilized by the aromatization reactions of the decomposition species. The porous carbon materials prepared by CuCl₂ activation are rich in micropores and mesopores. These porous carbons exhibit excellent supercapacitor performance in aqueous electrolytes.