Oxygen- and nitrogen-co-doped activated carbon from waste particleboard for potential application in high-performance capacitance

Oxygen- and nitrogen-co-doped activated carbons were obtained from phosphoric acid treated nitrogen-doped activated carbons which were prepared from waste particleboard bonded with urea-formaldehyde resin adhesives. The activated carbon samples obtained were tested as supercapacitors in two-electrode cell and extensive wetting 7 M KOH electrolytes. Their structural properties and surface chemistry, before the electrical testing, were investigated using elemental analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and adsorption of nitrogen. Activated carbon treated by 4 M phosphoric acid of the highest capacitance (235 F/g) was measured in spite of a relatively lower surface (1360 m2/g) than that of the activated carbon treated by 2 M phosphoric acid (1433 m2/g). The surface chemistry, and especially oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups, was found of paramount importance for the capacitive behavior and for the effective pore space utilization by the electrolyte ions.

Graphical abstractAll electrodes showed excellent capacitance and retention versus discharge current density from 0.05 to 5 A/g.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide