Waste plastic for increasing softening point of pitch and specific surface area of activated carbon based on the petroleum residue

Facile Preparation of Petroleum Pitch-Based Activated Carbon with Open Macropore Walls for High Energy Density Supercapacitors

“…Notably, PAC-4 demonstrated superior electrochemical performance, with a capacitance retention of 90% and the highest specific capacitance of 137.77 F/g at the end of cycling. The irreversible capacitance observed during cycling can be attributed to several factors, such as (i) side reactions occurring between electrolyte ions and surface functional groups on the carbon electrode, (ii) charge imbalance caused by the low electrical conductivity of carbon at high current densities, and (iii) charge transport hindrance caused by electrolyte ions trapped inside micropores or charge traps formed during the charge and discharge processes [23,[47][48][49]. These results indicate that PACs with a high softening point and high activation temperature exhibit excellent electrical conductivity, outstanding structural stability, optimized pore size, and an appropriate structure for facilitating efficient charge transport and adsorption/desorption of ions between the electrolyte and electrodes.…”

“…These properties are primarily affected by the type of raw materials and the variables during the processes of precursor synthesis and activation. Typically, AC precursors are manufactured by thermal treatment of coal tar or petroleum [21,23]. The petroleum residue, known as pyrolyzed fuel oil (PFO), has low molecular weight with relatively higher surface functional groups than coal tar pitch.…”