Interconnected open-channel carbon nanosheets derived from pineapple leaf fiber as a sustainable active material for supercapacitors

The interconnected open-channel carbon nanosheets were prepared from the agro-waste pineapple leaf fiber using a simple hydrothermal technique and KOH chemical activation under heat treatment in Ar atmosphere. The obtained activated carbon showed amorphous structure with porous graphitized carbon nanosheets and a high specific surface area of 1681 m(2) g(-1). When used as an active material for supercapacitor, such natural fiber-derived carbon nanosheets revealed a high electrochemical performance (the specific capacitance was as high as 202 F g(-1) at 5 mV s(-1) in 1 M H2SO4) and a superb cycling stability even after 10,000 cycles of operation. The carbon nanosheets reported herein, therefore, represent a green energy material that combine the benefit of sustainability of an active component and the promise of high-performance energy storage device.