Surface and Diffusion Charge Contribution Studies of Human Hair-Derived Heteroatom-Doped Porous Carbon Electrodes for Supercapacitors

• Published in: Energy & fuels Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 626 - 637
• Main Authors: Dubey, Prashant, Shrivastav, Vishal, Kaur, Ashwinder, Maheshwari, Priyanka H, Sundriyal, Shashank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 06-01-2022
• Subjects: Batteries and Energy Storage
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c03175

Owing to the high specific surface area and adjustable pore size distribution, biowaste-derived activated carbon (AC) has lately aroused the interest of researchers in supercapacitor applications. Herein, we employ human hair-derived heteroatom-doped porous AC for supercapacitor applications. Electrochemical assessment of the as-synthesized material is examined in three distinct electrolytes, viz., basic (6 M KOH), neutral (1 M Na2SO4), and acidic (1 M H2SO4), and shows superior performance in 1 M H2SO4 implying its perfect compatibility in an acidic electrolyte. This finding is corroborated via surface and diffusion charge contribution analysis of the AC sample in different electrolytes. Comparing with 6 M KOH (37.5%) and 1 M Na2SO4 (67.5%), superior diffusion charge contribution is observed in the case of 1 M H2SO4 (79%) electrolyte at 20 mV/s that helps to achieve the highest specific capacitance of 274.5 F/g at 1 A/g. Moreover, the as-fabricated all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor device delivered a remarkable energy density of 47.4 W h/kg at a power output of 1642.8 W/kg, as well as a long cycle life of 87% after 10 000 charge/discharge cycles. As a consequence, this astonishing finding paves the way for the use of various biowastes for a variety of applications for energy storage.