Electrode production from quercus infectoria based and microwave aid activated carbon for supercapacitor

Increasing population and technological developments around the world increase the need for energy day by day. With the increase in energy demand, it is of great importance to store and later use the energy produced. Supercapacitors have recently been the focus of attention, as they quickly store and transfer charges in energy storage systems. In this thesis, a new electrode material with good properties for supercapacitors was produced by using microwave supported activated carbons produced from Quercus infectoria. In the first phase of the study, Quercus infectoria biomass was converted to activated carbon via carbonization and base activation; In the second stage, the obtained activated carbons were subjected to microwave energy at different times and at different power values; In the third stage, the targeted electrodes were produced using the obtained samples. The electrochemical performances of the produced supercapacitor electrodes were tested at room temperature using galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques, and the capacity and stability of the electrodes were calculated. A total of four different supercapacitor cells were developed using these produced electrodes. When the cyclic voltammetry curves were examined, it was observed that the developed supercapacitor cells formed symmetrical rectangular shapes showing ideal capacitive behavior. The best specific capacitance value was obtained from the electrodes of the MAQ-4 sample (283,9 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g) produced by exposing it to 500 W microwave energy for 20 minutes. Capacitance retention rates of MAQ-1, MAQ-2, MAQ-3 and MAQ-4 electrodes were calculated as 94,4%, 99,7%, 92,6% and 94,4%, respectively, after 100 GCD cycles in 6 M KOH electrolyte at a current density of 4 A/g. The results showed that the electrodes obtained by applying microwave energy to activated carbons produced from Quercus infectoria biomass may be an important alternative for energy storage technology in the future due to their conductivity, capacity, superior cyclic stability, environmental friendliness and low cost