Chemically exfoliated refined carbon from industrial tea waste for capacitive energy storage
Ahmet Güngör, Gökçen Akgül, Feray Bakan, Emre Erdem
Abstract
Abstract Graphitic carbon materials, renowned as favored energy storage materials, offer exceptional features such as a high surface area, customizable surface functionality, stability, and durability and have been extensively investigated. However, identifying highly efficient, cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly materials and sources is the predominant challenge. Abundant natural biomass, the sole renewable carbon resource, is a promising capacitive graphitic carbon reservoir. This study explores the catalytic carbonization of biomass derived from industrial tea waste, employing FeCl 3 as a graphitization agent. Subsequently, the biomass undergoes chemical exfoliation to produce graphene-like compounds. The electrochemical performances are comprehensively examined. This innovative technique aims to modulate the capacitance of the refined carbonaceous material, which has increased from 30 F g −1 to 81 F g −1 through the chemical exfoliation of resistive oxygenated groups, rendering it suitable for a prospective supercapacitor application.