Nanoporous Activated Carbon Material from Terminalia chebula Seed for Supercapacitor Application

Abstract

High-surface-area porous carbon materials with high porosity and well-defined pore structures are the preferred advanced supercapacitors electrode materials. Here, we report the electrochemical supercapacitive performance of novel high-porosity activated carbon materials prepared from biowaste Terminalia chebula (Harro) seed stones involving zinc chloride (ZnCl2) activation. Activation is achieved by mixing ZnCl2 with Harro seed powder (1:1 w/w) followed by carbonization at 400–700 °C under a nitrogen gas atmosphere. The amorphous carbon materials obtained exhibit excellent performance as electrical double-layer capacitor electrodes in aqueous electrolyte (1 M sulfuric acid) due to high specific surface areas (as high as 1382.6 m2 g−1) based on well-developed micropore and mesopore structures, and partial graphitic structure containing oxygenated surface functional groups. An electrode prepared using material having the optimal surface textural properties achieved a large specific capacitance of 328.6 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 in a three-electrode cell setup. The electrode achieved a good capacitance retention of 44.7% at a high 50 A g−1 current density and outstanding cycling performance of 98.2% even following 10,000 successive charge/discharge cycles. Electrochemical data indicate the significant potential of Terminalia chebula seed-derived porous carbons as high-performance electrode materials for high-energy-storage supercapacitor applications.

Thermochemical Activation of Wood with NaOH, KOH and H3PO4 for the Synthesis of Nitrogen-Doped Nanoporous Carbon for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…This feature may also contain contributions from the C=C vibrations of polyenes [51,52]. The broad band in the frequency region of 1220-1270 cm -1 (similar to our D* band) in the Raman spectra of nanoporous activated carbon material was previously assigned to the amorphous carbon-related D band and C-C vibrations of cis-polyacetelyne groups [50].…”

“…Besides the well-known D and G components (Lorentzian-Gaussian form), additional Gaussian form bands located at 1275 cm -1 (D*) and 1520 cm -1 (D ′′ ) were introduced [44][45][46][47][48]. The D" band was previously related to the amorphization of carbon material [49,50]. This feature may also contain contributions from the C=C vibrations of polyenes [51,52].…”

Cell-derived nanomaterials for biomedical applications

“…Functionalization of these biomolecules leads to the formation of carbon NPs with unique properties for bioimaging, and antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities [ 93 ]. Furthermore, nanoporous carbon materials, utilized in supercapacitor applications, can be derived from plants like lotus seed and Terminalia chebula seed, contributing to the advancement of clean energy storage [ 95 , 96 ].…”

Influence of Precursor Type on Activated Carbon Prepared by Phosphoric Acid-Chemical Activation for Supercapacitor Applications

“…A previous work demonstrated that zinc chloride AC from amla seeds, barro and harro seeds showed the necessary characterization suitable for an electrode material of a supercapacitor [11,12,13]. In contrast, there was no literature in the use of phosporic acid as an activating agent for harro and amla seeds even though the phosphoric acid is environmentally friendly.…”