Pomegranate rind-derived activated carbon as electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors

In this paper, activated carbon materials were synthesized from pomegranate rind through carbonization and alkaline activation processes. The effects of pyrolytic temperature on the textual properties and electrochemical performance were investigated. The surface area of the activated carbon can reach at least 2200 m² g^?1 at different pyrolytic temperatures. It was found that, at the range of 600–900 °C, decreasing the carbonization temperature leads to the increase of t-plot micropore area, t-plot micropore volume, and capacitance. Further decreasing the carbonization temperature to 500 °C also leads to the increase of t-plot micropore area and t-plot micropore volume, but the capacitance is slightly poorer. The activated carbon carbonized at 600 °C and activated at 800 °C possesses very high specific area (2931 m² g^?1) and exhibits very high capacitance (～268 F g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1 and ～242 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1). There is no capacitance fading after 2000th cycle.     

Resorcinol-formaldehyde carbon spheres/polyaniline composite with excellent electrochemical performance for supercapacitors

Well-dispersed resorcinol-formaldehyde-based carbon spheres (RFCs) have been prepared by the polycondensation of resorcinol and formaldehyde with ammonia as catalyst and subsequent carbonization of the obtained polymer. In situ polymerization of the aniline occurred in the suspension of the RFC, and RFC was surrounded by the polyaniline (PANI) wires. The PANI and RFC hybrid network (PRFC) formed gradually. In a three-electrode mode, the specific capacitance (C _sp) of PRFC reaches 315 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1 in 2 M H₂SO₄, much higher than that of pure PANI (225 F g^?1) and RFC (121.7 F g^?1). Furthermore, the C _sp of PRFC retains 80.0 % after 1000 charge-discharge processes at a current density of 5 Ag^?1. The enhanced electrochemical performance of the PRFC came from its homogeneous three-dimensional hierarchical network structure, good electric conductivity of the PANI around the RFC, and the synergistic effect between the RFC and PANI.     

Converting eucalyptus leaves into mesoporous carbon for its application in quasi solid-state supercapacitors

A high performance activated carbon having pore diameter of 2.8 nm and specific surface area of 841.8 m² g^?1 is prepared by chemical activation of eucalyptus leaves using KOH as an activating agent. The chemically-treated eucalyptus leaves EL(T) as electrode material has a specific capacitance of 663.5 mF cm^?2 (equivalent to single electrode specific capacitance of 442.3 F g^?1) with solid polymer electrolyte. This active material has excellent rate capability and good cycle performance, over 95 % of the original capacitance is retained after 5,000 cycles. The energy density of 101.6 Wh kg^?1 and power density of 2.85 kW kg^?1 has been observed for EL(T) based quasi solid-state supercapacitors.     

In situ synthesis of crosslinked-polyaniline nano-pillar arrays/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for supercapacitors

Crosslinked-polyaniline (CPA) nano-pillar arrays adsorbed on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets were synthesized by in situ solution polymerization through two steps of reduction. The electrochemical analyses demonstrated that the befittingly reduced CPA/RGO composite exhibited high performance as electrode materials for supercapacitors. The CPA/RGO composite showed very high specific capacitance of 1532 F g^?1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s^?1 or 694 F g^?1 at a current density of 2 A g^?1 in 1 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte, as well as great energy density of 61.4 W h kg^?1 at a current density of 2 A g^?1. The electrode material also had decent power density of 4 kW kg^?1 at a current density of 10 A g^?1, and good cycling stability of 92.5 % capacitance retained after 500 cycles of cyclic voltammetry at 500 mV s^?1. The neat microstructures and super electrochemical properties suggest the potential use of the composites in supercapacitors.     

Self-sustaining hybrid electrode prepared from polyaniline,carbon nanotubes,and carbon fibers: morphological,structural, and electrochemical analyses

The self-sustaining hybrid electrode was prepared via chemical polymerization of aniline in acid medium containing dispersed carbon nanotubes (CNT), using carbon fiber (CF) as conducting substrate. The ternary composites called PAni/CNT/CF were characterized in order to evaluate their morphologies, structures, and thermal properties. The influence of the polyaniline (PAni) layer in the ternary composite properties was studied considering different deposition times on CF samples (30, 60, and 90 min). The ternary composite morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy while thermal structural analyses were obtained using thermogravimetric measurements. The structural features were analyzed by Raman scattering spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The possible interactions between PAni and CNT were discussed on the basis of Raman and FTIR spectra. These spectroscopic analyses also confirmed that the PAni present in the composite is in the emeraldine (ES) salt form. Furthermore, the ternary composites were also evaluated by electrochemical measurements such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The results showed good charge storage capacity for ternary composites, in particular, for PAni/CNT/CF obtained with 90 min of deposition time, which exhibited specific capacitance of around 500 F g^?1. Therefore, this electrode was selected to build a prototype of type I supercapacitor. This device presented specific capacitance of around 143 F g^?1 after 3200 charge/discharge cycles.     

Binder-free activated carbon papers for high-performance electric double-layer capacitors

A binder-free activated carbon paper (ACP) was simply prepared for electric double-layer capacitors by the carbonization of filter paper, followed by heat-air activation at a lower temperature. The electrochemical cells assembled using the as-prepared ACP-470 provides a high specific capacitance of 296.4 F g^?1 at current density of 0.5 A g^?1 and a high rate performance at a current density of 150 A g^?1 with a capacitance of 191.2 F g^?1 and a high cycle ability at 10,000 recycles with 100 % capacitance retention. In addition, the ACP has a lower electrical resistivity and provides an effective energy storage performance with a maximum energy density of 41.2 Wh kg^?1 and a maximum power density of 138.0 kW kg^?1 in a voltage range of 1 V.     

One-step preparation of sulfonated carbon and subsequent preparation of hybrid material with polyaniline salt: a promising supercapacitor electrode material

The present trend to increase the energy density of electrochemical supercapacitor is to hybrid the electrochemical double layer capacitance electrode materials of carbon with loading or encapsulation of transition metal oxide or conductive polymeric pseudocapacitor materials as the binary or ternary hybrid electrochemical active materials. In this work, we selected polyaniline salt-sulfonated carbon hybrid (PANI-SA?C _SA ) as a cheaper electrode material for supercapacitor electrode. Sulfonated carbon (C _SA ) was prepared from hydrothermal carbonization of furaldehyde and p-toluenesulfonic acid. Polyaniline-sulfate salt containing sulfonated carbon was prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline using ammonium persulfate in presence of sulfuric acid and sulfonated carbon via aqueous, emulsion and interfacial polymerization pathways. Formation of hybrid material was confirmed from scanning electron microscopy. Among the hybrid prepared with three different polymerization pathways, hybrid prepared by aqueous polymerization pathway showed better electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance of the hybrid prepared via aqueous polymerization was 600 F g^?1, which is higher than that of the pristine PANI-SA (350 F g^?1) and C _SA (30 F g^?1). Hybrid material was subjected for 8000 charge-discharge cycles and at 8000 cycles; it showed 88% retention of its original specific capacitance value of 485 F g^?1 with coulombic efficiency (97–100%). These results showed that C _SA micro spheres prevent the degradation of PANI-SA chains during charge/discharge cycles. Specific capacitance, cycle life, low solution resistance, low charge transfer resistance and high phase angle value of PANI-SA?C _SA supercapacitor cell indicates a higher performance supercapacitor system.

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Graphical abstract Synthesis of hybrid of sulfonated carbon with polyaniline sulfate salt and its supercapacitor performance Ravi Bolagam, Palaniappan Srinivasan,^* Rajender Boddula

     

Electrospun porous MnMoO<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanotubes as high-performance electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors

MnMoO₄ nanotubes of diameter about 120 nm were successfully synthesized by a single-spinneret electrospinning technique followed by calcination in air, and their structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties were studied with the aim to fabricate high-performance supercapacitor devices. The obtained MnMoO₄ nanotubes display a 1D architecture with a porous structure and hollow interiors. Benefiting from intriguing structural features, the unique MnMoO₄ nanotube electrodes exhibit a high specific capacitance, excellent rate capability, and cycling stability. As an example, the tube-like MnMoO₄ delivers a specific capacitance of 620 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1, and 460 F g^?1 even at a very high current density of 60 A g^?1. Remarkably, almost no decay in specific capacitance is found after continuous charge/discharge cycling for 10,000 cycles at 1 A g^?1. An asymmetric supercapacitor fabricated from this MnMoO₄ nanotubes and activated carbon displayed a maximum high energy density of 31.7 Wh kg^?1 and a power density of 797 W kg^?1, demonstrating a good prospect for practical applications in energy storage electronics.     

Hierarchical nanocomposites of polyaniline scales coated on graphene oxide sheets for enhanced supercapacitors

The homogeneous polyaniline–graphene oxide (PANI-GO) nanocomposites were facilely assembled with a redox system in which cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) and iron dichloride (FeCl₂) acted as oxidant and reductant, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that PANI scales coated uniformly on the surface of GO sheets owing to the synergistic effect between the PANI and GO. The obtained PANI-GO nanocomposites exhibited improved electrochemical performance as an electrode material for supercapacitors compared with the pure PANI. The specific capacitance of the PANI-GO nanocomposites was high up to 308.3 F g^?1, much higher than that of the pure PANI with specific capacitance of 150 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1 in 2 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte. The Raman and XPS results illustrated that enhanced electrochemical performance might be attributed to the π-π conjugation between the PANI and GO sheets.     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of straw-based porous carbon fibers for supercapacitor

The efficient utilization of natural biomass as renewable raw materials is of importance. We herein prepared porous carbon fibers (PCFs) by activation of the extracted cellulose microfibers from the agriculture byproduct of corn straw. Different from the porous carbons (PCs) by directly activating straw, the obtained PCFs had typical one-dimensional morphology with high surface area (2013 m² g^?1) and large pore volume (1.27 cm³ g^?1). The influence of the ZnCl₂/cellulose mass ratio on the electrochemical performance was studied, and the optimized PCF(1:1) possessed a much higher specific capacitance than the PC(1:1) sample, which was attributed to the improved specific surface area as well as the fiber-like morphology where it had short ion diffusion route and small interfacial resistance in comparison to PCs. PCFs have a high specific capacitance of 230 F g^?1 at 0.5 A g^?1, and 183 F g^?1 was retained at 20 A g^?1 (79.6%), revealing an excellent rate capability. The assembled symmetrical supercapacitor exhibited a wide potential window of 1.8 V, small electrochemical impedance, and superior cycle performance. Moreover, a high energy density of 16.0 Wh kg^?1 was obtained at a power density of 450.4 W kg^?1, which was preserved of 6.9 Wh kg^?1 at a high power density of 14,194.3 W kg^?1.     

Design of high-performance core-shell hollow carbon nanofiber@nickel-cobalt double hydroxide composites for supercapacitive energy storage

The supercapacitive performances of supercapacitor mainly depend on the physical nanostructure and micro-morphology of electrode materials. Here, we demonstrated the design, synthesis and electrochemical performances of core-shell hollow carbon nanofiber@nickel-cobalt-layered double hydroxide (HCNF@ Ni_0.67Co_0.33-LDH) nanocomposites with an optimized Ni/Co molar ratio of 2:1. The HCNF was used as superiorly conductive core to sustain the nanoporous silky Ni_0.67Co_0.33-LDH shell, which can efficiently provide fast transport pathways for electrons and electrolyte ions. The outstanding specific capacitance of 2486 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1 based on galvanostatic charge-discharge curves were acquired for the highly electroactive HCNF@Ni_0.67Co_0.33-LDH. Furthermore, the HCNF@Ni_0.67Co_0.33-LDH electrode delivered a distinguished rate capability with a specific capacitance of 1890 F g^?1 even at 15 A g^?1. Notably, an asymmetric supercapacitor with HCNF@Ni_0.67Co_0.33-LDH as cathode and HCNF as anode was devised, which presented a prominent specific capacitance of 228 F g^?1, good energy density of 62.1 Wh kg^?1, and impressive cycling stability (90.6% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles).     

Pyridine-containing metal-organic frameworks as precursor for nitrogen-doped porous carbons with high-performance capacitive behavior

A novel pyridine-containing metal-organic framework (MOF, [Zn(bpdc)DMA]·DMF, bpdc = 2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylate) was directly carbonized at different temperature to produce nitrogen-doped porous carbons (NPCs). The as-prepared porous carbons, NPC800 (obtained at 800 °C) and NPC1000 (obtained at 1000 °C), were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, N₂ sorption isotherms, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results from elemental analysis and XPS confirmed that the pyridine groups in MOF served as nitrogen sources to produce NPCs, and NPC800 possessed the higher nitrogen content than NPC1000. N₂ sorption data demonstrated that NPC800 exhibited the larger specific surface area and pore volume than NPC1000. The capacitive properties of NPC800 and NPC1000 were investigated in KOH aqueous electrolyte by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge curves. NPC800 showed the higher specific capacitance (226.6 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1) than NPC1000 and retained 178.0 F g^?1 even at a high current density up to 10 A g^?1. It was found that the donation of N species to capacitance was more than the role of porosity in view of their synergetic effect.     

KOH direct treatment of kombucha and in situ activation to prepare hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

Kombucha, a renewable biomass, has been successfully utilized as an accessible carbon source to fabricate kombucha-derived hierarchical porous carbon (KHPC) by KOH direct treatment and in situ activation. The prepared KHPC shows an interconnected hierarchical porous structure, a pore volume of 0.41 cm³ g^?1, and a specific surface area of 917 m² g^?1. Due to the multiple synergistic effects of these advantages, the KHPC-3 exhibits a high specific capacitance of 326 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1 in 6 M KOH, good rate capability of 82% retention from 1 to 20 A g^?1, and cycling performance with 91.3% retention over 5000 cycles. Moreover, the KHPC-3 symmetric supercapacitor reveals a good energy density of 20.97 Wh kg^?1 at a power density of 871.2 W kg^?1 and retains 8.08 Wh kg^?1 at 6330 W kg^?1 in 1 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte. Therefore, the KHPC obtained via the simple synthesis process shows great promise as an electrode material in energy storage devices.     

Synthesis of micro- and mesoporous carbon spheres for supercapacitor electrode

Micro- and mesoporous carbon spheres (MMCSs) are synthesized by the polymerization of colloidal silica-entrapped resorcinol/formaldehyde in the presence of ammonia as catalyst, followed by carbonization, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) etching to remove silica template, and potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation. The morphology and microstructure are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption. The results show that a typical sample (denoted as MMCS-3) unites the characteristics of regular spherical shape (uniform diameters of 500 nm), high specific surface area (1,620 m² g^?1), large pore volume (1.037 cm³ g^?1), and combined micropores and mesopores (11.0 nm), which endows MMCS-3 good electrochemical performance. MMCS-3 as supercapacitor electrode shows a specific capacitance of 314 F g^?1 under a current density of 0.5 A g^?1 and low internal resistance of 0.2 Ω in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. The electrochemical capacitance still retains 198 F g^?1 at a high current density of 10 A g^?1. After 500 cycle numbers of galvanostatic charge/discharge at 0.5 A g^?1, MMCS-3 electrode still remains the specific capacitance of 301 F g^?1 with the retention of 96 %. This study highlights the potential of well-designed MMCSs as electrodes for widespread supercapacitor applications.     

Thiourea aldehyde resin-based carbon/graphene composites for high-performance supercapacitors

Thiourea aldehyde resin-based heteroatom doping carbon and graphene composites (RHDC/GN) were prepared by an in situ polymerization and carbonization. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that thiourea aldehyde resin deposited on lamellar GO flakes during the polymerization and RHDC/GN composites had a hierarchical structure. The specific capacitance of the RHDC/GN composites was high up to 355 F g^?1, much higher than that of the pure thiourea aldehyde resin-based heteroatom doping carbon (RHDC) with specific capacitance of 135 F g^?1 at a current density of 1.0 A g^?1 in 6-M KOH electrolyte. And the hetroatoms in RHDC/GN composites increase the specific capacitance, and GN enhances the conductivity of the electrodes which is beneficial to improving electrochemical cycling stability of the electrode significantly. The specific capacitance retains 90.97% after 5000 charge-discharge processes at 10 A g^?1, which provides potential as supercapacitors.     

Preparation,characterization, and evaluation of LiNi0.4Co0.6O2 nanofibers for supercapacitor applications

We prepared LiNi_0.4Co_0.6O₂ nanofibers by electrospinning at the calcination temperature of 450 °C for 6 h. The prepared LiNi_0.4Co_0.6O₂ nanofibers was characterized by thermal, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies. The morphology of LiNi_0.4Co_0.6O₂ nanofibers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy studies. The asymmetric supercapacitor was fabricated using LiNi_0.4Co_0.6O₂ nanofibers as positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode and a porous polypropylene separator in 1 M LiPF₆–ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate (LiPF₆–EC:DMC) (1:1?v/v) as electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry studies were then carried out in the potential range of 0 to 3.0 V at different scan rates which exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 72.9 F g^?1. The electrochemical impedance measurements were carried out to find the charge transfer resistance and specific capacitance of the cell, and they were found to be 5.05 Ω and 67.4 F g^?1, respectively. Finally, the charge–discharge studies were carried out at a current density of 1 mA cm^?2 to find out the discharge-specific capacitance, energy density, and power density of the capacitor cell, and they were found to be 70.9 F g^?1, 180.2 Wh kg^?1, and 248.0 W kg^?1, respectively.     

Facile fabrication of mesoporous manganese oxides as advanced electrode materials for supercapacitors

Mesoporous manganese oxides (MnO₂) were synthesized via a facile chemical deposition strategy. Three kinds of basic precipitants including sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were employed to adjust the microstructures and surface morphologies of MnO₂ materials. The obtained MnO₂ materials display different microstructures. Great differences are observed in their specific surface area and porosity properties. The microstructures and surface morphologies characteristics of MnO₂ materials largely determine their pseudocapacitive behavior for supercapacitors. The MnO₂ prepared with Na₂CO₃ precipitant exhibits the optimal microstructures and surface morphologies compared with the other two samples, contributing to their best electrochemical performances for supercapacitors when conducted either in the single electrode tests or in the capacitor measurements. The optimal MnO₂ electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance (173 F g^–1 at 0.25 A g^?1), high-rate capability (123 F g^?1 at 4 A g^?1), and excellent cyclic stability (no capacitance loss after 5,000 cycles at 1 A g^?1). The optimal activated carbon//MnO₂ hybrid capacitor exhibits a wide working voltage (1.8 V), high-power and high-energy densities (1,734 W kg^?1 and 20.9 Wh kg^?1), and excellent cycling behavior (93.8 % capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 1 A g^?1), indicating the promising applications of the easily fabricated mesoporous MnO₂ for supercapacitors.     

Source molarity affected surface morphological and electrochemical transitions in binder-free FeO(OH) flexible electrodes and fabrication of symmetric supercapacitive device

Binderless chemical synthesis of flexible electrodes (FEs) of FeO(OH) has been carried out by simple and cost-effective successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. In aqueous route synthesis, FeCl₃ and NaOH solutions were used as cationic and anionic sources, respectively. Molar concentration of NaOH was kept constant while the molar concentration of FeCl₃ was varied from 0.2 to 0.8 M with step increments of 0.2 M to study its effect on physical and electrochemical characteristics of prepared FEs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the FEs exhibit existence of tetragonal FeO(OH). SEM images show the rice grain-like morphologies. Cyclic voltammetric analyses indicate the decrease in specific capacitance value with the increase in molar concentration of cationic precursor. For the electrode prepared with 0.2 M FeCl₃ as precursor, the observed maximum specific capacitance (SC) was 444.44 F g^?1 at 5 mV s^?1 in 1 M NaOH, hence these electrodes were used to fabricate the symmetric solid state supercapacitors. Prepared symmetric supercapacitive devices (SSD) were electrochemically analyzed. The maximum SC for the symmetric supercapacitor was found to be 320.50 F g^?1 at 5 mV s^?1 which was nearly same as that given by GCD analysis which is 313.27 F g^?1 at 0.5 mA. Nyquist plot of the device shows minute semicircle in the high frequency region and the mid-low frequency region shows straight line with inclination of nearly \( 40^\circ \) with X-axis. The equivalent series resistance (ESR), charge transfer resistance (R_ct) and Warburg impedance (R_w) are found to be 2.58, 2.56 and 0.8 Ω, respectively. The prepared SSD shows high cycling stability with 88% of capacitive retention even after 2000 cycles.     

Facile preparation of nitrogen-doped porous carbon for high performance symmetric supercapacitor

In this work, the micromolecule l-glutamic acid (Glu) is employed as nitrogen-rich precursor to prepare a novel porous carbon, and ZnCl₂ is used as activating agent to improve the surface area and electrochemical performance of the carbon. The nitrogen content of the carbon (Glu-2.5) prepared by Glu and ZnCl₂ with a mass ratio of 1:2.5 retains as high as 7.1 % at an activation temperature of 700 °C. The surface area and pore volume of Glu-2.5 are 1007.4 m² g^?1 and 0.57 cm³ g^?1, respectively. Glu-2.5 exhibits a high specific capacitance of 330.6 F g^?1 in 2 M KOH electrolyte at the current density of 1 A g^?1and good cycling stability (89 % retention of capacitance after 5000 charge/discharge cycles). More importantly, the assembled symmetric supercapacitor using Glu-2.5 as electrodes reveals a high energy density (16.7 Wh kg^?1) under the power density of 404.7 W kg^?1. Owing to its inherent advantages, Glu-2.5 could be a promising and scalable alternative applied to energy storage/conversion.     

Dual template method to prepare hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers for high-power supercapacitors

Hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers serving as electrode materials are prepared through carbonization and hydrofluoric acid treatment of polyacrylonitrile-based electrospinning involving dual templates. The hierarchical porous structures are synergistically tailored by varying template contents in the spinning solution. The carbon nanofibers prepared from the electrospinning of polyacrylonitrile containing 15/15 wt.% polymethylmethacrylate/tetraethyl orthosilicate exhibit the largest specific surface area (699 m² g^?1) and microporous volume (0.196 cm³ g^?1). In 6 M KOH electrolyte, a symmetrical supercapacitor equipped with the hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers demonstrates its high-end specific capacitance of 170 F g^?1, superior rate capability, and high-power density output up to 14.7 kW kg^?1. Cycling evolution indicates capacitance fading is only 5.8 % of initial capacitance at a current density of 1 A g^?1 even after 8,000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performances of the carbon nanofiber are mainly ascribed to the optimized pore size distributions of both micropores and mesopores and the unique hierarchical pore structures possessed by abundant micropores.