B,N-Doped Activated Carbon-Based Electrodes from Potato Peels for Energy Storage Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Waste biomass like potato peels presents an underutilized resource for creating advanced materials.
• Developing cost-effective and high-performance electrode materials is crucial for energy storage applications.
• Doping carbon materials with heteroatoms can significantly alter their physicochemical and electrochemical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize boron (B) and nitrogen (N)-doped activated carbons from potato peels.
• To investigate the impact of B-doping and B,N-co-doping on the properties of activated carbon electrodes.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance of these doped materials for energy storage.

Main Methods:

• Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of potato peels with urea and boron trioxide for in-situ doping.
• Chemical activation using ZnCl2 to produce activated carbons.
• Characterization of material properties and electrochemical performance testing.

Main Results:

• Synthesized single B-doped and B,N-co-doped activated carbons with varying B and N content.
• B,N-co-doped activated carbon exhibited the highest nitrogen content (5.7 wt%) and a notable boron content (0.1 wt%).
• Doped carbons showed enhanced electrical conductivity compared to pristine activated carbon. B,N-co-doped AC achieved specific capacitances of 51.7 F/g at 100 mV/s and 71.9 F/g at 5 mV/s.

Conclusions:

• Potato peel-derived B,N-co-doped activated carbon demonstrates superior electrochemical performance for energy storage.
• Heteroatom doping is an effective strategy to improve the properties of biomass-derived carbons.
• This approach offers a sustainable route for valorizing waste biomass into high-value energy storage materials.