Preparation of High Specific Surface Area Activated Carbon from Black Wolfberry Branches as an Efficient Electrode Material for Supercapacitors

Abstract

Black wolfberry branches are used as raw materials, and the KOH activation method is adopted for producing activated carbons with a high specific surface area. The characterization of the material reveals that with increasing activation temperatures, the specific surface area (SSA) and interconnected microporous/mesoporous structure are augmented. The SSA of the prepared material reaches 2046.07m2 g-1 and a high pore volume of 0.7cm3 g-1 is obtained. Furthermore, the prepared material exhibits excellent electrical performance. As an electrode material, the specific capacitance is as high as 355.7F g-1. at a current density of 1 A g-1, and the capacitance loss rate is 6.4% after 5000 cycles of charging and discharging at a current density of 2 A g-1. These findings indicate that the wolfberry branch is a kind of biomass material, especially suitable for the preparation of super-activated carbon.