Abstract
Carbon is the main constituent of all waste biomass. The extraction of activated carbonaceous materials from the waste biomass and their utilization in energy-storage applications is a green, cost-effective strategy. Herein, honeycomb-like activated carbon (AC) with a large surface area (2344 m2g-1) and improved conductivity was derived from palm seeds via hydrothermal followed by CO2 activation approaches. The AC sample was decorated over a carbon cloth (CC) current collector to form a flexible working electrode for next-generation electrochemical capacitors. As-prepared palm seed-derived activated carbon electrode delivered a good specific capacitance (Cs) of 294.9 Fg−1 @ 01 Ag−1, with exceptionally high cycling stability, showing 97.36% retention of its initial capacitance, even after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles in an alkaline electrolyte. The porous structure with microsized cavities enables the activated carbon-based electrode to show excellent rate capability (93.1% capacitance retention) even at nine-fold higher current density. As-prepared flexible electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance due to their unique three-dimensional network structure combined with porous architecture and good conductivity. This work provides a facile way to enhance activated carbon's capacitive performance and opens up new avenues for developing high-performance capacitive materials using waste biomass to reduce environmental concerns.
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