title: Converting biowaste corncob residue into high value added porous carbon for supercapacitor electrodes.
abstract: In this report, corncob residue, the main by-product in the furfural industry, is used as a precursor to prepare porous carbon by a simple and direct thermal treatment: one-step activation without pre-carbonization. As a consequence, the corncob residue derived porous carbon achieves a high surface area of 1210 m(2) g(-1) after ash-removal. The carbon material has the advantages of low cost and low environmental impact, with a superior electrochemical performance compared to those polymer-based synthetic carbons as electrode material for a supercapacitor. The carbon electrode exhibits a high capacitance of 314 F g(-1) in 6M KOH electrolyte. The corresponding sample also shows a superb cycling stability. Almost no capacitance decay was observed after 100,000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance is due to the combination of a high specific surface area with a fraction of mesopores and highly stable structure.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wen-Hui
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuan-Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, P.R. China.
authors.forename: An-Hui
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Qian
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, P.R. China. Electronic address: wencuili@dlut.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wen-Cui
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy; D025802:Electric Capacitance; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016062:Porosity; D013696:Temperature; D014866:Waste Products / Q000032:analysis*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D014866:Waste Products; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Biowaste; Corncob; Porous carbon; Supercapacitor