Microporous Activated Carbon from KOH-Activation of Rubber Seed-Shells for Application in Capacitor Electrode

This study is to prepare the activated carbon from rubber seed-shells by KOH activation Activated Carbons (ACs) for the electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs). Impregnation-Activation Method using 2% wt KOH solution as a chemical agent was used. The BET surface area, pore volume and pore size distribution of ACs were characterized using N-2 adsorption technique. The surface morphology was evaluated with SEM. Electrochemical properties of the prepared ACs electrodes have been studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV) in 30% wt of KOH as electrolyte. All prepared ACs had adsorption isotherm Type I indicating as the pore structure is mainly composed of micropores. Highest specific surface area (620 m(2)/g) with higher iodine number (639.73 mg/g) was obtained from the carbonization at 900 degrees C. The specific capacitance of the microporous ACs sheet electrode reached 63.2 F/g at 1mV/s. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.