Nanofiber-enrich dispersed activated carbon derived from coconut shell for supercapacitor material

Abstract

The high demand for supercapacitors has led to the importance of developing low-cost and eco-friendly materials. Instead of powders, nanofibers were widely developed as a carbon source to increase their durability and ease of handling. Herein, we report the effect of dispersed activated carbon derived from coconut shell charcoal on the supercapacitor performance of activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs) by electrospinning. The solution was formed by blending coconut shell charcoal (CSC)-based activated carbon and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a spinning polymer agent. This synthesis was conducted using various concentrations of activated carbon and introducing a surfactant during the process. The electrospinning was held at a 10 kV DC voltage, followed by iodine treatment, thermal stabilization, and carbonization at 800 °C. The highest surface area of 250.46 m2/g was obtained from the ACNFs 25S, consisting of PVA 15 w/v %, CSC 25 wt%, and an anionic surfactant. The electrochemical measurement was conducted using Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and possessed a specific capacitance of 186.50 F/g. Moreover, the ACNFs with dispersed activated carbon are promising to be a high capacitance, low cost, and renewable, thereby representing material toward high-power, environmentally friendly, and renewable energy storage devices through further exploration.