KOH-assisted synthesis of oxygen-rich activated carbon derived from biomass sugar palm midrib as performance electrode cell supercapacitor

ABSTRACT

The development of supercapacitor electrodes based on waste biomass can overcome high production costs. Biomass-based carbon electrodes rich in oxygen have wettability characteristics, which present a hydrophobic surface in an electrolyte solution system that improves the performance of supercapacitor cells. This research focuses on the conversion of sugar palm midrib (SPM) which become activated carbon (AC) through a KOH impregnation with percentages of 5%, 10%, and 15% from 30 g of carbon powder from SPM; furthermore, the AC undergoes a pyrolysis process. The resulting electrode has a cross-linked nanosphere structure with interconnected nanofibers and a high amorphous level. Furthermore, the electrode had the highest atomic and weight percentages of oxygen content of 21.91% and 19.12%, respectively, of the SPM-10 sample. Also, the measurement of the electrochemical properties of SPM obtained the highest specific capacitance of 210 Fg⁻¹ owned by the SPM-10 sample. Therefore, the contribution of physical and electrochemical properties showed that the SPM biomass, which is rich in oxygen, improves the performance of the supercapacitor cell, which is environmentally friendly and sustainable.

KEYWORDS:

• Carbon electrode
• impregnation KOH
• oxygen
• sugar palm midrib
• supercapacitor cell

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN), with contract number: 7674/UN19.5.1.3/AL.04/2023

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Kementerian Riset dan Teknologi/Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional [7674/UN19.5.1.3/AL.04/2023].

Notes on contributors

Rakhmawati Farma

Rakhmawati Farma is a professor and lecturer in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Riau, Indonesia. In addition, she is also active as a researcher in the field of material science, supercapacitor.

Haliza Putri

Haliza Putri is an under graduate student in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Riau, Indonesia.

Irma Apriyani

Irma Apriyani is a master’s degree student in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Riau, Indonesia. In addition, she is active as a researcher assistant in the field of material science, supercapacitor.