Examination of high porosity activated carbon obtained from dehydration of white sugar for electrochemical capacitor applications

Abstract

In this research study, we have presented a simple two-step synthesis path to producing a cost-effective, high-porosity carbon material via acidic dehydration of white sugar. The electrochemical behavior of the activated sugar-based carbon material (ASC), activated at 400 °C (ASC 400) and adopted as a supercapacitor electrode in a symmetric device, demonstrated a limit specific capacitance of 242.67 F g–1 at 1 A g–1. The device also demonstrated a good efficacy as an established material for supercapacitors suitable for high-power applications with a satisfactory energy density of 19 Wh kg–1 and a power density of 750 W kg–1 at a gravimetric specific current of 1 A g–1. The results obtained provide a potential route to converting cheap refined biomass sources into highly porous nanostructured materials for energy-storage device applications.