Hierarchical porous carbon foam electrodes fabricated from waste polyurethane elastomer template for electric double-layer capacitors

Abstract

Plastic waste has become a major global environmental concern. The utilization of solid waste-derived porous carbon for energy storage has received widespread attention in recent times. Herein, we report the comparison of electrochemical performance of porous carbon foams (CFs) produced from waste polyurethane (PU) elastomer templates via two different activation pathways. Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) fabricated from the carbon foam exhibited a gravimetric capacitance of 74.4 F/g at 0.1 A/g. High packing density due to the presence of carbon spheres in the hierarchical structure offered excellent volumetric capacitance of 134.7 F/cm3 at 0.1 A/g. Besides, the CF-based EDLCs exhibited Coulombic efficiency close to 100% and showed stable cyclic performance for 5000 charge–discharge cycles with good capacitance retention of 97.7% at 3 A/g. Low equivalent series resistance (1.05 Ω) and charge transfer resistance (0.23 Ω) due to the extensive presence of hydroxyl functional groups contributed to attaining high power (48.89 kW/kg). Based on the preferred properties such as high specific surface area, hierarchical pore structure, surface functionalities, low metallic impurities, high conductivity and desirable capacitive behaviour, the CF prepared from waste PU elastomers have shown potential to be adopted as electrodes in EDLCs.

Hierarchical Integrated Hybrid Structural Electrodes Based on Co‐N/C and Mo‐doped NiCo‐LDH@Co‐N/C Anchored on MX/CF for High Energy Density Fiber‐Shaped Supercapacitor

“…Among all the negative electrodes, Co-N/C 0.5 @MX/CF shows a nearly linear maximum discharge time with negligible IR drop, indicating a maximum capacitance and faster ion diffusion rate. [52] For positive electrodes, comparative GCD curves show a plateau-like shape, confirming the pseudocapacitive behavior, shown in Figure S17d, Supporting Information. As expected, Mo 1.5 NiCo-LDH@Co-N/C@MX/CF is found to have the maximum charging-discharging ability, indicating superior charge diffusion on the surface/interface.…”

“…This high rate performance is due to the efficient ion migration and shorter diffusion path in the interconnected pores derived from the unique structure of the bi-MOF derived Co-N/C and the strong interaction between the Co-N/C and the MX/CF. [52][53][54] In the case of Mo 1.5 NiCo-LDH@Co-N/C@MX/CF, as seen from the CV plot in Figure 3b, with increase in the scan rate, the CV curves appear to be slightly different from those at lower scan rate. This is because, at lower scan rate, the electrolyte ions have enough time to diffuse and interact with the electrodes resulting in the oxidation peak at ≈0.4-0.5 V and the reduction peak at ≈0.23 at a scan rate of 5 mV s −1 .…”

Microgrid-Patterned Ni Foams as Current Collectors for Ultrafast Energy Storage Devices

“…Accordingly, Minakshi et al reported a hybrid electrochemical energy storage device with an asymmetric configuration, using the eggshell-derived carbon as the anode and NiO/Co 3 O 4 as the cathode [10]. Consequently, existing studies focused on developing high-quality carbon materials with highly porous morphologies [11] and explored their surface functionalization [12], heteroatom-doping [13], and composite formations [14] to simultaneously enhance the specific capacitance, fast-rate capability, and cyclic stability of EDLC electrodes. Considering that a current collector functions as an electron-transfer tank to induce an electrostatic force between the active material and counter ions in the electrolyte, the surface structure of the current collector can significantly influence the EDLC performance.…”

Exploring the Impact of DAHP Impregnation on Activated Carbon Fibers for Efficient Charge Storage and Selective O2 Reduction to Peroxide

“…Thus, electrochemical capacitors can be used to complement battery systems in cases where short power bursts are needed. Many different types of carbon materials have found applications in electrochemical capacitors, like carbon nanotubes [16,17], graphene [17,18], carbon foam [19][20][21], and others. However, in many cases, the rationale for the use of complex carbon nanostructures is not well-justified.…”