Date of Award
Fall 11-12-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering (MSMSE)
Department
Materials Science
First Advisor
Dr. Ram Gupta
Second Advisor
Dr. Khamis Siam
Third Advisor
Dr. Seif Uran
Keywords
Bio-waste, corn, supercapacitor, chemical activation, pyrolysis, pore
Abstract
The recent attention given to supercapacitors has been driven forward by the need for sustainable and renewable energy resources in the global energy storage market due to soaring energy demand and decreasing availability of fossil fuels. Accordingly, biomass materials as electrode materials for supercapacitors have been innovated due to the characteristic of being naturally abundant, low-cost, and eco-friendly. Therefore, the various parts of corn plants such as corn leaf (CL), grain distiller (CGD), cob (CC), husk (CH), and stem (CS) as biomass electrode materials were prepared and then chemically activated using different masses of potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a chemical activating agent. The BET surface area of CL, CGD, CC, CH, and CS increased by huge increments from 21, 2, 15, 171, and 214 m2/g to 2,119, 2,603, 2,223, 2,291, and 2,841 m2/g, respectively, after the chemical activation process. The morphology of corn crop-derived activated carbon confirmed the open tubular channel non-uniform honeycomb-like structures with porous structure. Notably, the activated corn grain distiller also yielded the high specific capacitance of 245 F/g at 1 A/g current density in a three-electrode system in 3 M KOH electrolyte. Surprisingly, the retention rate was increased from 24.7 to 67.3% (ranging from 1 to 20 A/g), which also yielded a good rate capability after chemical activation. The highest energy and power density of activated corn materials were achieved for 33.6 Wh/kg and 8,961 W/kg, respectively, suggesting high-quality electrochemical performance for supercapacitor materials.
Recommended Citation
HONG, SEONGWOO, "STRUCTURAL AND ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATIONS OF ACTIVATED CARBON DERIVED FROM CORN CROPS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES" (2020). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 720.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/720
