Fabricating lignin-based carbon nanofibers as versatile supercapacitors from food wastes

Recently, the high-value utilization of food wastes has attracted great interest in sustainable development. Focusing on the major application of electrochemical energy storage (ECES), light-weight lignin-based carbon nanofibers (LCNFs) were controllably fabricated as supercapacitors from melon seed shells (MSS) and peanut shells (PS) through electrospinning and carbonizing processes. As a result, the optimal specific capacitance of 533.7 F/g in three-electrode system, energy density of 69.7 Wh/kg and power density of 780 W/Kg in twoelectrode system were achieved. Surprisingly, the LCNFs also presented a satisfied electromagnetic absorption property: The minimum reflection loss (RL) value reached -37.2 dB at an absorbing frequency of 7.98 GHz with an effective frequency (RL < 10 dB) of 2.24 GHz (6.88 to 9.12 GHz) at a thickness of 3.0 mm. These features make the multifunctional LCNFs highly attractive for light-weight supercapacitor electrodes and electromagnetic wave absorbers applications.

Automated summary

The high-value utilization of food wastes in sustainable development has attracted great interest. Lightweight lignin-based carbon nanofibers, fabricated from melon seed shells and peanut shells, show excellent supercapacitor performance and electromagnetic absorption properties, making them ideal for lightweight supercapacitor electrodes and electromagnetic wave absorbers applications.