Facile Synthesis of Colocasia esculenta Peels-Derived Activated Carbon for High-Performance Supercapacitor

Abstract

Biomass and biowaste resources can be used to create self-doped carbon with a distinctive microstructure. Using an economical and environmentally friendly method to create heteroatom-doped carbon electrode materials with excellent electrochemical performance has attracted much attention in the energy storage industry. A novel facile two-step, low-cost, and eco-friendly synthesis method for Colocasia esculenta peels has been developed to manufacture activated carbon (CEPAC) and used as an electrode material for supercapacitor application. The CEPAC 1:1 displayed a high specific surface area of 910 m²/g with oxygen-heteroatom polar sites in the carbon network. A specific capacitance of 525.3 F/g was recorded in the three-electrode system using a 3 M KOH solution. The assembled symmetric cell delivered an impressive specific capacitance of 98.7 F/g at 1 A/g while maintaining 98.4% of the initially recorded capacitance after 10 000 charge–discharge cycles. These results present a promising low-cost and simple processing route for synthesizing electrode materials with superior surface properties for high-performance supercapacitors.