biostudies-literatureLv YNational Natural Science Foundation of China11033-11038https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9050477biostudies-literatureUnknown10(19)N/S co-doped porous carbon spheres (NSPCSs) were prepared by a simple ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) using the mixed solution of coal oxide and l-cysteine, and without a subsequent activation process. The surface properties of carbon materials have been successfully modified by the concurrent incorporation of N and S. So the capacitive performance of NSPCSs was greatly enhanced. It is used as a supercapacitor electrode to achieve a high specific capacitance of 308 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1 and 90.2% capacitance retention even after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g^-1. These numerical results show that the supercapacitors based on coal-based carbon materials have great potential in high performance electrochemical energy storage.RSC advancesN/S co-doped coal-based porous carbon spheres as electrode materials for high performance supercapacitors.PMC905047720197212321861037U1703251Guo JChen JJia DLv YJia WTong FDing LWu XfalseN/S co-doped coal-based porous carbon spheres as electrode materials for high performance supercapacitors.N/S co-doped porous carbon spheres (NSPCSs) were prepared by a simple ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) using the mixed solution of coal oxide and l-cysteine, and without a subsequent activation process. The surface properties of carbon materials have been successfully modified by the concurrent incorporation of N and S. So the capacitive performance of NSPCSs was greatly enhanced. It is used as a supercapacitor electrode to achieve a high specific capacitance of 308 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1 and 90.2% capacitance retention even after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g^-1. These numerical results show that the supercapacitors based on coal-based carbon materials have great potential in high performance electrochemical energy storage.2020-01-01T00:00:00Z2020 Mar2025-04-25T23:00:50.759Z2025-04-06T09:13:51.914ZS-EPMC90504773549534410.1039/d0ra00458h