Momodu, Damilola Y.Madito, M.J. (Moshawe)Barzegar, FarshadBello, AbdulhakeemKhaleed, Abubakar A.Olaniyan, OkikiolaDangbegnon, Julien K.Manyala, Ncholu I.2016-11-302017-03Momodu, D., Madito, M., Barzegar, F., Bello, A., Khaleed, A., Olaniyan, O., Dangbegnon, J., Manyala, N. Activated carbon derived from tree bark biomass with promising material properties for supercapacitors. Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry (2017) 21: 859-872. doi:10.1007/s10008-016-3432-z.1432-8488 (print)1433-0768 (online)10.1007/s10008-016-3432-zhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/58309Activated carbon from tree bark (ACB) has been synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly activation and carbonization process at different temperatures (600, 700 and 800 °C) using potassium hydroxide (KOH) pellets as an activation agent with different mass loading. The physicochemical and microstructural characteristics of the as-obtained material revealed interconnected microporous/mesoporous architecture with increasing trend in specific surface area (SSA) as carbonization temperatures rises. The SSA values of up to 1018 m2 g−1 and a high pore volume of 0.67 cm3 g−1 were obtained. The potential of the ACB material as suitable supercapacitor electrode was investigated in both a three and two-electrode configuration in different neutral aqueous electrolytes. The electrodes exhibited electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) behaviour in all electrolytes with the Na2SO4 electrolyte working reversibly in both the negative (−0.80 V to −0.20 V) and positive (0.0 V to 0.6 V) operating potentials. A specific capacitance (Cs) of up to 191 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 was obtained for the optimized ACB electrode material in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. A symmetric device fabricated exhibited specific Cs of 114 F g−1 at 0.3 A g−1 and excellent stability with a coulombic efficiency of a 100 % after 5000 constant charge–discharge cycles at 5.0 A g−1 and a low capacitance loss for a floating time of 70 h.en© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016. The original publication is available at : http://link.springer.com/journal/10008.Activated carbonTree barkBiomass wasteSupercapacitorNeutral electrolyteElectric double-layer capacitor (EDLC)Postprint Article