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Improving the rate capability of microporous activated carbon-based supercapacitor electrodes using non-porous graphene oxide

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Abstract

In this work, high-rate-capability supercapacitor electrodes based on a green, sustainable, graphene oxide-assisted microporous activated carbon (AC) were developed by a facile method. Highly microporous ACs were produced from tea factory waste using different amounts of potassium carbonate (K2CO3). Non-porous GO sheets were prepared by anodic electrochemical exfoliation in a 0.1 M (NH4)2SO4 aqueous solution. The materials were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, particle size, XPS, Raman, and SEM techniques. The electrochemical performance of ACs was examined by using a 6 M KOH electrolyte with CV, GCD, and EIS methods. It was determined that the activated carbon sample (AC-IR1.5), prepared using a mass ratio of (1.0:1.5) of tea factory waste: K2CO3, exhibited the best electrode performance. These highly reversible best-performing AC-based electrodes prepared from AC-IR1.5 with the highest micropore volume fraction were physically mixed with GO in mass ratios, (AC-IR1.5: GO) of 90:10, 75:25, 60:40, and examined as the supercapacitor electrodes along with AC-based electrodes. The electrochemical characterization results showed that a significant enhancement in the rate capability was achieved by AC-IR1.5: GO electrodes compared to AC-based ones. The capacitance retention of AC-IR1.5: GO (75:25) was found to be at least twice as higher (84%) than that of AC-based electrodes (39%) at a high current density of 10 A g− 1.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (Project No: 218M562).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ankara University, 06100, Ankara, Turkey

    I. Isil Gurten Inal

  2. Department of Chemistry, Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, 21280, Turkey

    Filiz Koyuncu

  3. School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, The University of Manchester, Sackville Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Maria Perez-Page

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The study and experiments were designed by I. Isil Gurten Inal, who also conducted the experiments and carried out the electrochemical analyses. Inal also authored the main text of the manuscript. Filiz Koyuncu collaborated with Inal in conducting the experiments and prepared Figs. 1 and 2, and 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Maria Perez-Page conducted the XPS and SEM analyses and provided interpretations of the data, and she also prepared Figs. 3 and 4. All authors contributed to the manuscript by reviewing it in detail.

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Gurten Inal, I., Koyuncu, F. & Perez-Page, M. Improving the rate capability of microporous activated carbon-based supercapacitor electrodes using non-porous graphene oxide. J Porous Mater 30, 1775–1787 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-023-01459-7

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