Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications
This study investigates the processing of shea nut shells (SNSs), an abundant agricultural waste, into porous activated carbon for supercapacitor electrodes through a two-stage thermal treatment involving pyrolysis and physical activation with CO<sub>2</sub> and steam. The aim was to dev...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Joshua Atta Alabi Neda Nazari Daniel Nframah Ampong Frank Ofori Agyemang Mark Adom-Asamoah Richard Opoku Rene Zahrhuber Christoph Unterweger Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa |
| author_facet | Joshua Atta Alabi Neda Nazari Daniel Nframah Ampong Frank Ofori Agyemang Mark Adom-Asamoah Richard Opoku Rene Zahrhuber Christoph Unterweger Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa |
| author_sort | Joshua Atta Alabi |
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| description | This study investigates the processing of shea nut shells (SNSs), an abundant agricultural waste, into porous activated carbon for supercapacitor electrodes through a two-stage thermal treatment involving pyrolysis and physical activation with CO<sub>2</sub> and steam. The aim was to develop sustainable, high-performance electrode materials while addressing waste management. Carbonization followed by activation yielded 16.5% (CO<sub>2</sub>) and 11.3% (steam) activation yields, with total yields of 4.3% and 2.9%, respectively. CO<sub>2</sub> activation produced carbon (AC_CO<sub>2</sub>) with a specific surface area (S<sub>BET</sub>) of 1528 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup> and a total pore volume of 0.72 cm<sup>3</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>, a graphitization degree (I<sub>D</sub>/I<sub>G</sub> = 1.0), and low charge transfer resistance (9.05 Ω), delivering a specific capacitance of 47.5 F g<sup>−1</sup> at 0.5 A g<sup>−1</sup>, an energy density of 9.5 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup> at 299 W kg<sup>−1</sup>, and a fast discharge time of 2.10 s, ideal for power-intensive applications. Steam activation yielded carbon (AC_H<sub>2</sub>O) with a higher specific surface area (1842 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>) and pore volume (1.57 cm<sup>3</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>), achieving a superior specific capacitance of 102.2 F g<sup>−1</sup> at 0.5 A g<sup>−1</sup> and a power density of 204 W kg<sup>−1</sup> at 9.2 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup>, suited for energy storage. AC_CO<sub>2</sub> also exhibited exceptional cyclic stability (90% retention after 10,000 cycles). These findings demonstrate SNS-derived activated carbon as a versatile, eco-friendly material, with CO<sub>2</sub> activation optimizing power delivery and steam activation enhancing energy capacity, offering tailored solutions for supercapacitor applications and sustainable waste utilization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a6a360ff0d104a31bf660d1bcaa41626 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-a6a360ff0d104a31bf660d1bcaa416262025-08-20T03:35:37ZengMDPI AGInorganics2304-67402025-07-0113722410.3390/inorganics13070224Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode ApplicationsJoshua Atta Alabi0Neda Nazari1Daniel Nframah Ampong2Frank Ofori Agyemang3Mark Adom-Asamoah4Richard Opoku5Rene Zahrhuber6Christoph Unterweger7Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa8KNUST Center for Engineering Materials Research (KCEMR), Department of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-448-7139, GhanaWood K plus—Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH, 4040 Linz, AustriaKNUST Center for Engineering Materials Research (KCEMR), Department of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-448-7139, GhanaKNUST Center for Engineering Materials Research (KCEMR), Department of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-448-7139, GhanaDepartment of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-448-7139, GhanaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-448-7139, GhanaCentre for Surface and Nanoanalytics (ZONA), Johannes Kepler University, 4040 Linz, AustriaWood K plus—Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH, 4040 Linz, AustriaKNUST Center for Engineering Materials Research (KCEMR), Department of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi AK-448-7139, GhanaThis study investigates the processing of shea nut shells (SNSs), an abundant agricultural waste, into porous activated carbon for supercapacitor electrodes through a two-stage thermal treatment involving pyrolysis and physical activation with CO<sub>2</sub> and steam. The aim was to develop sustainable, high-performance electrode materials while addressing waste management. Carbonization followed by activation yielded 16.5% (CO<sub>2</sub>) and 11.3% (steam) activation yields, with total yields of 4.3% and 2.9%, respectively. CO<sub>2</sub> activation produced carbon (AC_CO<sub>2</sub>) with a specific surface area (S<sub>BET</sub>) of 1528 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup> and a total pore volume of 0.72 cm<sup>3</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>, a graphitization degree (I<sub>D</sub>/I<sub>G</sub> = 1.0), and low charge transfer resistance (9.05 Ω), delivering a specific capacitance of 47.5 F g<sup>−1</sup> at 0.5 A g<sup>−1</sup>, an energy density of 9.5 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup> at 299 W kg<sup>−1</sup>, and a fast discharge time of 2.10 s, ideal for power-intensive applications. Steam activation yielded carbon (AC_H<sub>2</sub>O) with a higher specific surface area (1842 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>) and pore volume (1.57 cm<sup>3</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>), achieving a superior specific capacitance of 102.2 F g<sup>−1</sup> at 0.5 A g<sup>−1</sup> and a power density of 204 W kg<sup>−1</sup> at 9.2 Wh kg<sup>−1</sup>, suited for energy storage. AC_CO<sub>2</sub> also exhibited exceptional cyclic stability (90% retention after 10,000 cycles). These findings demonstrate SNS-derived activated carbon as a versatile, eco-friendly material, with CO<sub>2</sub> activation optimizing power delivery and steam activation enhancing energy capacity, offering tailored solutions for supercapacitor applications and sustainable waste utilization.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/7/224shea nut shellsphysical activationactivated carbonspecific surface areasupercapacitor |
| spellingShingle | Joshua Atta Alabi Neda Nazari Daniel Nframah Ampong Frank Ofori Agyemang Mark Adom-Asamoah Richard Opoku Rene Zahrhuber Christoph Unterweger Kwadwo Mensah-Darkwa Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications Inorganics shea nut shells physical activation activated carbon specific surface area supercapacitor |
| title | Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications |
| title_full | Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications |
| title_fullStr | Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications |
| title_short | Synthesis of Physically Activated Carbons from <i>Vitellaria paradoxa</i> Shells for Supercapacitor Electrode Applications |
| title_sort | synthesis of physically activated carbons from i vitellaria paradoxa i shells for supercapacitor electrode applications |
| topic | shea nut shells physical activation activated carbon specific surface area supercapacitor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6740/13/7/224 |
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