Effect of N2 carbonization temperature on porous activated carbon derived from jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus L.) peel as electrode material for supercapacitor

Abstract

This study presents the different effects of nitrogen carbonization temperature of porous carbon as electrode material based for supercapacitor applications. The precursor origin material as a carbon source is focused on the bio-waste of jicama peel. The precursor is directly chemically activated ZnCl2 followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. This work has been performed with three different carbonization temperatures of 550 °C, 600 °C, and 650 °C. Experimental results show that carbonization at different temperatures causes the formation of different material properties to support the performance of the supercapacitor. The dimensions of the carbon coins display different density values with data trends being degraded after the high-temperature pyrolysis process. In addition, microcrystalline properties were also evaluated by means of the X-ray diffraction technique. The supercapacitor cells were evaluated in two-electrode configurations with an organic membrane as a separator. Electrochemical properties such as specific capacitance, energy density, and power density were thoroughly evaluated through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques. The highest specific capacitance was confirmed at 179 F g-1 in a constant current density of 1.0 A g-1. Furthermore, the maximum energy density was found as high as 12.60 Wh kg-1 at the optimum power density of 105.86 Wh kg-1. These results confirm that the carbonization temperature needs to be considered to obtain high-porous activated carbon derived from bio-waste jicama peel for supercapacitor electrode materials.