Activated carbon prepared by hydrothermal pretreatment-assisted chemical activation of date seeds for supercapacitor application

In this study, date seeds were used to produce activated carbon by hydrothermal treatment and KOH chemical activation. Activated carbon is used as an electrode material for supercapacitors. The activated biomass samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The results showed a homogeneous and microporous structure without the presence of larger pores for the prepared activated carbon. Excellent electrochemical performance measurements are obtained, including a maximum specific capacity of 179 Fg-1 at 5 mVs-1 and the highest discharge capacity of 159 Fg-1 at 0.2 Ag-1. The electrodes showed good stability after 5500 galvanic charge and discharge cycles. The electrochemical performances of the prepared electrodes are very promising for energy storage applications.