Surface characteristics of porous carbon derived from genetically designed transgenic hybrid poplar for electric double-layer capacitors

Abstract

Wood and wood residues are attractive sources for supercapacitor electrode materials because of their abundance and sustainability. As each lignocellulosic biomass has an intrinsic chemical composition, improvements in the energy storage capability have relied on modified preparation conditions or the introduction of functional groups or foreign materials. However, owing to advances in genetic science, the influence of biomass chemical composition on the surface characteristics and electrochemical behavior of wood-derived porous carbons can be investigated toward the development of high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. Herein, we compare the electrochemical performance of porous carbons derived from genetically designed transgenic and wild poplar following chemical activation with KOH at 800 °C. The transgenic poplar-derived porous carbon shows ~80% higher capacitance than the wild-poplar-derived porous carbon at 0.2 A/g and greater performance at all test rates (0.2–20 A/g). An increased cellulose fraction or decreased lignin fraction in the biomass increases the surface area and the amount of oxygen functional groups on the porous carbon, thus enhancing the electrochemical performance. These findings are expected to advance the use of biomass-derived materials in energy storage applications.