A Facile Approach: Carbon Activation of Palm Shell Using Gel Type Activating Agent for Enhanced Porous Structure Electrodes

This study is geared towards the promises of palm shell as a renewable substitute for the electrode material of supercapacitor as well as the usage of gel (10 g of NaOH, 20 g of PVA and 300 ml of distilled water) for carbon activation. Carbonaceous materials have received continuous interest as suitable materials for EDLC electrodes because of their high surface area, chemical compatibility, and large network of pores. Despite the potential benefits of carbon-based materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and carbon aerogels, their usage has been reportedly challenged by scarcity, cost, and most importantly agglomeration effects in the fabrication process . High surface area, tunable pore size, abundance, wide temperature range, and low-cost are all advantages of activated carbon obtained from biomass. Palm shell was activated using a chemical activation technique. The structural and physiochemical properties of activated carbon derived from palm shell were studied and analyzed using XRD, FTIR, and BET measurements. The electrochemical properties of the fabricated electrodes from chemically activated carbon derived from palm shell were studied and analysed using cyclic voltammetry , galvanostatic charge discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. With a surface area of 216.062 m 2 g -1 and a pore volume of 0.1468 cm 3 g -1 , gel-based activation is used for the activated carbon production.