Tuning Carbon Materials for Supercapacitors by Direct Pyrolysis of Seaweeds

TLDR

Seaweeds provide a diverse source of precursors for nanotextured carbons, and their composition and pyrolysis conditions can be tailored to produce either oxygen‑enriched or micro/mesoporous carbons. Carbons are produced by simple pyrolysis of seaweeds under nitrogen between 600–900 °C, followed by rinsing in slightly acidic water. The resulting carbons, with surface areas below 1300 m² g⁻¹, exhibit high volumetric capacitance and perform excellently as supercapacitor electrodes in both aqueous (oxygen‑rich surfaces) and organic (tuned porous) media, offering a high‑density, eco‑friendly alternative to activated carbons and potential for environmental remediation.

Abstract

Abstract The sea provides a large variety of seaweeds that, because of their chemical composition, are fantastic precursors of nanotextured carbons. The carbons are obtained by the simple pyrolysis of the seaweeds under a nitrogen atmosphere between 600 and 900 °C, followed by rinsing the product in slightly acidic water. Depending on the origin of the seaweed and on the pyrolysis conditions, the synthesis may be oriented to give an oxygen‐enriched carbon or to give a tuned micro/mesoporous carbon. The samples with a rich oxygenated surface functionality are excellent as supercapacitor electrodes in an aqueous medium whereas the perfectly tuned porous carbons are directly applicable for organic media. In both cases, the specific surface area of the attained carbons does not exceed 1300 m 2 g −1 , which results in high‐density materials. As a consequence, the volumetric capacitance is very high, making these materials more interesting than activated carbons from the point of view of developing small and compact electric power sources. Such versatile carbons, obtained by a simple, ecological, and cheap process, could be well used for environment remediation such as water and air treatment.