Pyrolysis of Enzymolysis‐Treated Wood: Hierarchically Assembled Porous Carbon Electrode for Advanced Energy Storage Devices

Abstract

Designing energy storage devices from thick carbon electrodes with high areal/volumetric energy density via a simple and green way is very attractive but still challenging. Cellulose, as an excellent precursor for thick carbon electrodes with abundant sources and low cost, is usually activated by a chemical activator and pyrolysis route to achieve high electrochemical performance. However, there are still some problems to be addressed, such as the harsh activation conditions, easy collapse of porous structures, and the high cost. Herein, a 3D self‐supporting thick carbon electrode derived from wood‐based cellulose is proposed for high areal and volumetric energy density of supercapacitor from a mild, simple, and green enzymolysis treatment. Benefiting from the high specific surface area (1418 m2 g−1) and abundant active sites on the surface of wood‐derived hierarchically porous structures and enzymolysis‐induced micropores and mesopores, the assembled symmetry supercapacitor from the thick carbon electrode can realize the high areal/volumetric energy density of 0.21 mWh cm−2/0.99 mWh cm−3 with excellent stability of 86.58% after 15 000 long‐term cycles at 20 mA cm−2. Significantly, the simple and universal strategy to design material with high specific surface area, provides a new research idea for realizing multi‐functional application.

Cellulose Structures as a Support or Template for Inorganic Nanostructures and Their Assemblies

“…For example, when wood was first delignified, the resulting cellulose hierarchical structure was exposed to cellulose enzymes to partially degrade its structure to form micro- and nanopores, followed by carbonation at 1000 °C for 3 h in a N 2 atmosphere, a highly porous hierarchical carbon structure was obtained. Such structures with a high specific surface have been applied as electrodes in supercapacitors with high areal/volumetric energy density and excellent stability [ 255 ]. Porous carbon hierarchical structures based on wood cellulose are frequently studied as electrodes in supercapacitors or in batteries [ 256 , 257 ].…”

Multiscale Mechanical Performance of Wood: From Nano- to Macro-Scale across Structure Hierarchy and Size Effects

“…Cellulose is the most common natural linear polymer polysaccharide (C 6 H 10 O 5 ) n in the biosphere. The materials formed on its basis provide vast advantages: Unlike the majority of extracted mineral resources, cellulose-containing materials have sustainable and renewable sources, namely forests, field crops, and aqua cultures [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]; These materials are multifunctional; they can be used in construction and industrial manufacturing [ 5 , 8 ], for producing cardboard, paper, packaging [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], and textile goods [ 13 , 14 ], in electronics [ 15 ], photonics [ 16 ], and energetics [ 17 , 18 ], in environmental remediation and wastewater treatment [ 5 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], medicine [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], military [ 28 ] and household applications, and in many other spheres [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 29 ]; Wood, cellulose-containing plant materials, and bio-composites are gaining more and more popularity each year. Among their most attractive features we should name their environmental friendliness, biodegradability, after-service “self-destruction” that leaves no toxic products [ 1 , 2 , …”

“…These materials are multifunctional; they can be used in construction and industrial manufacturing [ 5 , 8 ], for producing cardboard, paper, packaging [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], and textile goods [ 13 , 14 ], in electronics [ 15 ], photonics [ 16 ], and energetics [ 17 , 18 ], in environmental remediation and wastewater treatment [ 5 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], medicine [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], military [ 28 ] and household applications, and in many other spheres [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 29 ];…”

Hydrogen-Bonding-Aided Fabrication of Wood Derived Cellulose Scaffold/Aramid Nanofiber into High-Performance Bulk Material

“…Natural wood is a very important kind of structural materials for building and furniture due to its low cost, easy processing and abundant [1][2][3]. However, the physical and mechanical performance of natural wood cannot meet the demand for advanced engineering materials [4][5][6]. Based on this, quality optimization process for natural wood is an effective strategy to achieve the high value application of wood [7][8][9].…”