1 Bharti School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 2C6, Canada.
2 Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada.

Utilizing Waste Thermocol Sheets and Rusted Iron Wires to Fabricate Carbon-Fe3 O4 Nanocomposite-Based Supercapacitors: Turning Wastes into Value-Added Materials.

ChemSusChem. 2018 Jul 20;11(14):2410-2420

Authors: Vadiyar MM, Liu X, Ye Z

Abstract

The synthesis of porous activated carbon (specific surface area=1883 m2 ?g-1 ), Fe3 O4 nanoparticles, and carbon-Fe3 O4 (C-Fe3 O4 ) nanocomposites from local waste thermocol sheets and rusted iron wires is demonstrated herein. The resulting carbon, Fe3 O4 nanoparticles, and C-Fe3 O4 composites are used as electrode materials for supercapacitor applications. In particular, C-Fe3 O4 composite electrodes exhibit a high specific capacitance of 1375 F?g-1 at 1 A?g-1 and longer cyclic stability with 98?% capacitance retention over 10?000 cycles. Subsequently, an asymmetric supercapacitor, namely, C-Fe3 O4 ?Ni(OH)2 /carbon nanotube device, exhibits a high energy density of 91.1 Wh?kg-1 and a remarkable cyclic stability, with 98?% capacitance retention over 10?000 cycles. Thus, this work has important implications not only for the fabrication of low-cost electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors, but also for the recycling of waste thermocol sheets and rusted iron wires for value-added reuse.

PMID: 29761664 [PubMed]