Hierarchical Porous Carbon from Greening Plant Shell for Electric Double-Layer Capacitor Application

Amygdalus pedunculata is expected to be a good candidate plant for desert reclamation ("greening") since it has notable tolerance to cold and drought and can grow in a wide range of area with different soil types and moisture contents. In this study, hierarchical porous activated carbon (AC) with high surface area and large mesoporous volume was developed from Amygdalus pedunculata shell (APS) for an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) application. The AC activated at 900 degrees C by K2CO3 possessed a highly developed hierarchical porosity network of a coexistence of micropores and mesopores. The AC with the specific surface area of 2030 m(2) g(-1) and mesopore percentage of 82% showed superior capacitive performance in 20 wt% H2SO4 electrolyte using a bipolar cell by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GC) measurements. A maximum capacity of 210 F g(-1) was achieved at current density of 0.05 Ag-1 from the AC prepared from APS and K2CO3 with the mixed weight ratio of 2:3 under the activation conditions of 900 degrees C and 60min. The present APS-derived AC is a promising electrode material from green raw materials for EDLCs.