Towards high performance of supercapacitor: New approach to design 3 D architectured electrodes with bacteria

• Published in: Journal of industrial and engineering chemistry (Seoul, Korea) Vol. 78; pp. 232 - 238
• Main Authors: Lee, Kwang Se, Kim, Sang Jun, Park, Chan Woo, Cho, Incheol, Kim, Patrick Joo Hyun, Pol, Vilas G., Park, Inkyu, Ko, Jang Myoun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 25-10-2019; 한국공업화학회
• Subjects: Bacteria; Electrode; Sponge; Supercapacitor; Zinc oxide; 화학공학; Supercapacitor; Bacteria; Zinc oxide; Sponge; Electrode
• ISSN: 1226-086X; 1876-794X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiec.2019.06.010

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A novel approach of preparing high performance electrodes for supercapacitors was demonstrated by pyrolyzing the hierarchical composite prepared from organic waste and biological resources. Sponge waste was utilized as a carbon source for preparing the interconnected structured electrode materials with high porosity, and needle-like ZnO particles were directly grown on the sponge in order to effectively capture bacteria cells as well as improve the overall redox reactions. The bacteria (E. coli O157:H7) were isolated on a ZnO/sponge composite to endow electrochemically beneficial inherent nitrogen existing in bacteria, as well as to provide bio-templates with the aids of these structural and material benefits, the carbonized material prepared from the bacteria loaded on the ZnO/sponge composite showed a significantly enhanced specific capacitance of 133Fg−1 (at 0.2Ag−1) and an excellent cycle retention of 89% over long-term cycles (5000 cycles). Our strategy of utilizing recyclable and biomass-derived materials not only can effectively improve the electrochemical performances of supercapacitors but also open an innovative way to address the systemic issues underlying the carbonaceous materials used in supercapacitors.