Fabricating sustainable lignin-derived porous carbon as electrode for high-performance supercapacitors

doi:10.1007/s11705-023-2313-0

Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (8) : 1065-1074 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-023-2313-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Fabricating sustainable lignin-derived porous carbon as electrode for high-performance supercapacitors

Wei Liu^1,^2,³(

), Zhikun Li², Ranran Sang², Jinsong Li³, Xueping Song¹(

), Qingxi Hou²

¹. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Clean Pulp & Papermaking and Pollution Control, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
². Tianjin Key Laboratory of Pulp & Paper, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
³. Mudanjiang Hengfeng Paper Co., Ltd., Mudanjiang 157013, China

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Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass such as plants and agricultural waste are ideal to tackle the current energy crisis and energy-related environmental issues. Carbon-rich lignin is abundant in lignocellulosic biomass, whose high-value transformation and utilization has been the most urgent problem to be solved. Herein, we propose a method for the preparation of porous carbon from lignin employing an H₃PO₄-assisted hydrothermal method. We characterize the as-prepared lignin-derived porous carbon and investigate its potential for energy storage. After assisted hydrothermal treatment followed by carbonization at 800 °C, the lignin-derived porous carbon displays a high specific capacitance (223.6 F·g^–1 at 0.1 A·g^–1) and excellent cycling ability with good capacitance retention. In this present study, the resultant lignin-derived porous carbon was used as the electrode of a supercapacitor, illustrating yet another potential high-value use for lignin, namely as a candidate for the sustainable fabrication of main supercapacitor components.

Keywords lignin porous carbon electrode supercapacitor

Corresponding Author(s): Wei Liu,Xueping Song

Just Accepted Date: 21 February 2023 Online First Date: 28 June 2023 Issue Date: 20 July 2023

Cite this article:

Wei Liu,Zhikun Li,Ranran Sang, et al. Fabricating sustainable lignin-derived porous carbon as electrode for high-performance supercapacitors[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2023, 17(8): 1065-1074.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-023-2313-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2023/V17/I8/1065

Fig.1 Preparation process of LPC.

Tab.1 BET of LPC prepared under different conditions

Fig.2 (a) N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms and (b) pore size distribution curves of LPC samples; (c) SEM images of LPC-520, (d) P-LPC-520, and (e) P-LPC-AT-800.

Fig.3 (a) FTIR spectra, (b) Raman spectra, and (c) XPS wide scan spectra of LPCs; (d) high resolution P 2p core levels of P-LPC-AT-800.

Tab.2 XPS analysis (unit: at %)

Fig.4 Electrochemical performances of LPCs determined in a three-electrode system in 6 mol·L^–1 KOH: CV curves recorded at 10–500 mV·s^–1 and GCD curves recorded at 0.1–10 A·g^–1 of (a, b) LPC-520, (c, d) P-LPC-520 and (e, f) P-LPC-AT-800.

Fig.5 (a) CV curves detected at 10 mV·s^–1, (b) GCD curves detected at 0.1 A·g^–1 of LPCs, (c) charge–discharge rate performance based on weight of active materials, and (d) Nyquist plots of P-LPC-AT-800; (e) R_ct of P-LPC-AT-800; (f) bode phase angle of P-LPC-AT-800.

Tab.3 Comparison LPC’s electrochemical performance with other reported lignin-based carbon materials

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