Electrochemical study on Activated Carbon Electrode from Kenaf biowaste for Supercapacitor Application

This paper discusses the fabrication of supercapacitor electrode using activated carbon derived from biowaste, Kenaf natural fibers as a precursor. Kenaf fiber was used as the natural fiber that acted as a precursor for the synthesis of activated carbon to become the active material of supercapacitor. The utilization of kenaf fiber biomass as a sustainable source offers to produce a low cost, light weight, high efficacy, reliable and stable supercapacitor. The carbon was synthesized from kenaf fibers by means of carbonization using potassium hydroxide (KOH). Three temperatures namely 700, 800 and 900°C were chosen for activation. It turned out that 800°C was the optimal temperature for efficient activation of the carbonized sample. The sample AC-800 produced the highest specific capacitance compared to AC-900 and AC-700. The electrochemical testing was performed in 6M KOH revealed the specific capacitance values of 91, 100 and 76 F/g for AC-700, AC-800 and AC-900 electrode respectively. The charge retention of AC-800 3 electrode at 5 A/g, was as high as 85% even at 2000
^th
cycles.