Comparison of Porous Carbon Electrodes Derived from Madhuca longifolia Leaves by Hydrothermal Technique and Direct Pyrolysis Techniques

In present study, porous conducting functional carbon material was prepared from Madhuca longifolia leaves by hydrothermal and direct pyrolysis techniques. Further, the prepared carbon materials from different techniques were activated to enhance their physico-chemical, morphological and electrochemical properties. The synthesized conductive carbon materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction studies, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. To evaluate the electrochemical performance of the prepared carbon material, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge studies were carried out in 1 M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte in a three-electrode system. Compared to carbon material synthesized via the hydrothermal process (82.85 F/g), the capacitance of 173.75 F/g found in the Madhuca longifolia biowaste precursor obtained via direct pyrolysis is quite satisfactory. Thus, Madhuca longifolia derived functional carbon can be used as green, low-cost electrode materials for supercapacitors.