Chemically exfoliated refined carbon from industrial tea waste for capacitive energy storage

Abstract

Graphitic carbon materials, renowned as favored energy storage materials, offer exceptional features such as a high surface area, customizable surface functionality, stability, and durability and have been extensively investigated. However, the predominant challenge is identifying highly efficient, cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly materials and sources. Abundant natural biomass, the sole renewable carbon resource, is a promising capacitive graphitic carbon reservoir. This study explores the catalytic carbonization of biomass derived from industrial tea waste, employing FeCl3 as a graphitization agent. Subsequently, the biomass undergoes chemical exfoliation to produce graphene-like compounds. The electrochemical performances are comprehensively examined. This innovative technique aims to modulate the capacitance of the refined carbonaceous material, which has increased from 30 F/g to 81 F/g through the chemical exfoliation of resistive oxygenated groups, rendering it suitable for a prospective supercapacitor application.