Original articleActivated carbon from orange peels as supercapacitor electrode and catalyst support for oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Activated carbon is synthesized using orange peel as precursor through chemical activation using H3PO4 and its ability as electrocatalyst support for ORR reaction is examined. The prepared material was subjected to various structural, compositional, morphological and electrochemical studies. For ORR activity, the platinum loaded on activated carbon (Pt/OP-AC) was investigated by cyclic voltammograms (CVs) recorded in N2 and O2 saturated 0.1 M aqueous HClO4. For supercapacitor performance, three electrode systems was tested in aqueous H2SO4 for feasibility determination and showed electrochemical double layer capacitance (EDLC) behaviour which is expected for activated carbon like materials. Electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of the activated carbon from orange peel is measured using CV. The physical properties of the prepared carbon are studied using SEM (scanning electron microscope), XRD (X-ray diffraction), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The AC derived from orange peels delivered a high specific capacitance of 275 F g−1 at 10 mV s-1 scan rate. Hence, this study suggested that orange peels may be considered not only as a potential alternative source for synthesizing carbon supported catalyst for fuel cell application but also highlight the production of low-cost carbon for further applications like supercapacitors.