Biomass-derived porous activated carbon nanofibers from Sapindus trifoliatus nut shells for high-performance symmetric supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Cost-effective and sustainable high-performance supercapacitor material was successfully prepared from cellulosic waste (Sapindus trifoliatus nut shells) biomass-derived activated carbon (CBAC) by physical activation method. The CBAC displays nanofiber morphology, high specific surface area (786 m2/g), large pore volume (0.212 cm3 g−1) which are evaluated using FESEM, BET and possessed excellent electrochemical behavior analyzed through various electrochemical methods. Moreover, the assembled symmetric CBAC//CBAC device exhibits high specific capacitance of 240.8 F g−1 with current density of 0.2 A g−1 and it is maintained to 65.6 F g−1 at high current density of 2.0 A g−1. In addition, the symmetric device delivers an excellent specific energy maximum of over 30 Wh kg−1 at 400 W kg−1 of specific power and excellent cycling stability in long term over 5000 cycles. The operation of the device was tested by light-emitting diode. Hence, CBAC-based materials pave way for developing large-scale, low-cost materials for energy storage device applications.