Mutuma, B.K. (Bridget)Boitumelo J. MatsosoMomodu, Damilola Y.Oyedotun, Kabir OyeniranCoville, Neil J.Manyala, Ncholu I.2019-09-022019-09-022019-03-16Mutuma, B.K., Matsoso, B.J., Momodu, D. et al. 2019, 'Deciphering the structural, textural, and electrochemical properties of activated BN-doped spherical carbons', Nanomaterials, vol. 9, art. 446, pp. 1-18.2079-4991 (print)2079-4991 (online)10.3390/nano9030446http://hdl.handle.net/2263/71252In this study, the effect of K2CO3 activation on the structural, textural, and electrochemical properties of carbon spheres (CSs) and boron and nitrogen co-doped carbon spheres (BN-CSs) was evaluated. Activation of the CSs and BN-CSs by K2CO3 resulted in increased specific surface areas and ID/IG ratios. From the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results, the BN-CSs comprised of 64% pyridinic-N, 24% pyrrolic-N and 7% graphitic-N whereas the activated BN-CSs had 19% pyridinic-N, 40% pyrrolic-N and 22% graphitic-N displaying the effect of activation on the type of N configurations in BN-CSs. A possible BN-co-doping and activation mechanism for the BN-CSs is proposed. Electrochemical analysis of the electrode materials revealed that BN doping, carbon morphology, structure, and porosity played a crucial role in enhancing the capacitive behavior of the CSs. As a proof of concept, a symmetric device comprising the activated BN-CSs displayed a specific power of 800 W kg 1 at a specific current of 1 A g 1 within an operating cell potential of 1.6 V in a 3 M KNO3 electrolyte. The study illustrated for the first time the role of K2CO3 activation in influencing the physical and surface properties of template-free activated BN-CSs as potential electrode materials for energy storage systems.en© 2019 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Carbon spheresActivationSupercapacitorBoron and nitrogen co-doped carbon spheres (BN-CSs)X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)Article