Highly microporous carbon with nitrogen-doping derived from natural biowaste for high-performance flexible...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Developing advanced carbon materials is crucial for high-performance energy storage devices.
• Utilizing biowaste as a precursor offers a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional methods.
• Nitrogen doping enhances the electrochemical properties of carbon materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a highly microporous, nitrogen-doped carbon material from natural biowaste.
• To investigate the material's potential for supercapacitor applications.
• To demonstrate a facile and eco-friendly method for biowaste valorization.

Main Methods:

• One-step synthesis using wood fiber-derived hydrochar and melamine.
• Characterization of the material's structure, surface area, and porosity.
• Electrochemical testing of the material in a flexible symmetric solid-state supercapacitor.

Main Results:

• Synthesized N-doped carbon with 1.75 at.% nitrogen, 1807 m²/g surface area, and interconnected micropores.
• Achieved a specific capacitance of 345 F/g at 0.5 A/g, with 270 F/g at 30 A/g.
• Demonstrated excellent cycle stability (91.3% retention after 10,000 cycles) and a supercapacitor energy density of 7.92 Wh/kg.

Conclusions:

• The developed N-doped carbon material exhibits superior electrochemical performance for supercapacitors.
• The study presents a cost-effective and sustainable route for biowaste recycling into high-value materials.
• This work paves the way for advanced energy storage solutions derived from renewable resources.