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Sustainable Energy‐Storage Materials from Lignin–Graphene Nanocomposite‐Derived Porous Carbon Film
Author(s) -
Tran Chau D.,
Ho Hoi Chun,
Keum Jong K.,
Chen Jihua,
Gallego Nidia C.,
Naskar Amit K.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201700090
Subject(s) - supercapacitor , materials science , graphene , chemical engineering , nanocomposite , lignin , carbonization , carbon fibers , amorphous carbon , aqueous solution , nanotechnology , electrochemistry , composite material , amorphous solid , electrode , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite number , scanning electron microscope , engineering
A simple, green approach to fabricating porous free‐standing carbon films is presented. An alkaline solution of low‐cost, renewable lignin and graphene oxide (GO) is cast, followed by simultaneous carbonization and activation. Lignin, which is the least valued product from several biomass processing industries, is an efficient source of carbon when used as an intercalating agent to separate graphene sheets derived from homogeneous GO/lignin nanocomposite films prepared from an aqueous alkaline (KOH) solution. After thermal treatment the GO/lignin films show complete dispersion of reduced GO sheets within amorphous lignin‐derived carbon. The presence of KOH in the film produces activated carbon. These activated carbon films display a specific surface area of up to 1744 m 2 g −1 and consist of a balance of pore volumes with pore sizes below and above 1 nm. A two‐electrode supercapacitor composed of these films in an aqueous electrolyte exhibits near‐ideal capacitive behavior at an ultrahigh scan rate of 1 V s −1 , while maintaining an excellent specific capacitance of 162 F g −1 . Such outstanding performance of renewable carbon as a supercapacitor, in addition to the ease of electrode fabrication from a precursor containing 85 % lignin, offers a novel method for valorization of lignin‐rich byproduct streams from biomass processing industries.