Open AccessDigested sludge-derived three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitor electrode
Author(s) -
Jia-Jia Zhang,
HaoXiang Fan,
Xiaohu Dai,
Shi-Jie Yuan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
royal society open science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 51
ISSN - 2054-5703
DOI - 10.1098/rsos.172456
Subject(s) - supercapacitor , materials science , capacitance , sewage sludge , pyrolysis , chemical engineering , carbon fibers , electrolyte , electrode , porosity , energy storage , specific surface area , waste management , composite material , sewage treatment , chemistry , composite number , organic chemistry , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , catalysis
Digested sludge, as the main by-product of the sewage sludge anaerobic digestion process, still contains considerable organic compounds. In this protocol, we report a facile method for preparing digested sludge-derived self-doped porous carbon material for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes via a sustainable pyrolysis/activation process. The obtained digested sludge-derived carbon material (HPDSC) exhibits versatile O-, N-doped hierarchical porous framework, high specific surface area (2103.6 m 2 g −1 ) and partial graphitization phase, which can facilitate ion transport, provide more storage sites for electrolyte ions and enhance the conductivity of active electrode materials. The HPDSC-based supercapacitor electrodes show favourable energy storage performance, with a specific capacitance of 245 F g −1 at 1.0 A g −1 in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 ; outstanding cycling stability, with 98.4% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles; and good rate performance (211 F g −1 at 11 A g −1 ). This work provides a unique self-doped three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon material with a favourable charge storage capacity and at the same time finds a high value-added and environment-friendly strategy for disposal and recycling of digested sludge.