Open Access

ARTICLE

Two-Step Preparation of Hierarchical Porous Carbon Materials Derived from Tannin for Use as an Electrode Material for Supercapacitors

Jianping Deng¹, Qianqian Zhang¹, Yuling Lan¹, Lingcong Luo¹, Zimin Dai¹, Zhonghang Lin¹, Zhixin Lu¹, Jiancheng Yuan¹, Yiqi Fu¹, Lu Luo^2,*, Weigang Zhao^1,*

1 College of Material Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
2 Maritime College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, 316022, China

* Corresponding Authors: Lu Luo. Email: ; Weigang Zhao. Email:

(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Advanced Renewable Energy Storage Materials and Their Composite: Preparation, Characterization and Applications)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2023, 11(6), 2631-2646. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2023.027163

Received 17 October 2022; Accepted 02 December 2022; Issue published 27 April 2023

Abstract

The development and utilization of biomass and agroforestry processing byproducts for high-value applications have been an important topic in the field of renewable materials research. Based on this, a two-step microwave hydrothermal pre-carbonization and KOH activation method was proposed to synthesize tannin-based activated carbons with a high specific surface area, hierarchical pore structure, and good electrochemical performance. The microstructure, texture properties, and physicochemical characteristics were investigated. The results show that the prepared tannin-based activated carbons presented a hierarchical pore structure (micro- and mesopores) with a specific surface area as high as 997.46 m³ g⁻¹ . The electrochemical analysis shows that the tannin-based activated carbons have good wettability and charge transfer rates. Under the three-electrode system with 6 M KOH as the electrolyte, the active material TAC600-4 had a maximum specific capacitance of 171 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ . As the current density increases to 10 A g⁻¹ , the specific capacitance can still be maintained at 149 F g⁻¹ , indicating a good rate capability. Therefore, the specific surface area and pore size of tannin-based activated carbons can be effectively adjusted by the alkali/carbon ratio, making it a promising supercapacitor electrode material and providing a new method for the high-value development of tannins in the field of electrochemical energy storage.

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