Digested sludge-derived three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitor electrode. Issue 4 (11th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Jia-Jia; Fan, Hao-Xiang; Dai, Xiao-Hu; Yuan, Shi-Jie
• Is Part Of: Royal Society open science. Volume 5:Issue 4(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-04-11
• Subjects: digested sludge -- supercapacitor -- three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon -- energy storage; Science -- Periodicals; 500
• DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172456
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2054-5703

Abstract

Abstract : Digested sludge, as the main by-product of the sewage sludge anaerobic digestion process, still contains considerable organic compounds. In this protocol, we report a facile method for preparing digested sludge-derived self-doped porous carbon material for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes via a sustainable pyrolysis/activation process. The obtained digested sludge-derived carbon material (HPDSC) exhibits versatile O-, N-doped hierarchical porous framework, high specific surface area (2103.6 m 2 g −1 ) and partial graphitization phase, which can facilitate ion transport, provide more storage sites for electrolyte ions and enhance the conductivity of active electrode materials. The HPDSC-based supercapacitor electrodes show favourable energy storage performance, with a specific capacitance of 245 F g −1 at 1.0 A g −1 in 0.5 M Na2 SO4 ; outstanding cycling stability, with 98.4% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles; and good rate performance (211 F g −1 at 11 A g −1 ). This work provides a unique self-doped three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon material with a favourable charge storage capacity and at the same time finds a high value-added and environment-friendly strategy for disposal and recycling of digested sludge.