Eco-friendly fabrication of porous carbon monoliths from water-soluble carboxymethyl cellulose for supercapacitor applications

[Display omitted] •Porous carbon monoliths (PCMS) were prepared from CMC by ice-templating and carbonization.•PCMs showed high specific surface area with multi-modal pore structures.•PCMs exhibited a high specific capacitance and an outstanding cycling stability.•PCMs are promising as electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors. An eco-friendly method for the preparation of porous carbon monoliths (PCMs) with a high surface area and excellent electrochemical performance was demonstrated. Porous carboxymethyl cellulose monoliths (CMCMs) were prepared by ice-templating technique. PCMs were fabricated by the carbonization of ice-templated porous CMCMs. The prepared PCMs exhibited a high specific surface area of 724.35m2g–1 with multi-modal pore structures. The PCM-based electrode showed a high specific capacitance of 210Fg–1 at 1Ag–1 in a 6.0MKOH electrolyte, and an excellent cycle stability of almost 100% at 10Ag–1 after 10,000 cycles. Therefore, the PCMs prepared in this study are a promising electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors.