Nanoporous activated carbons-derived from agro-waste have been useful as suitable and scalable low-cost electrode materials in supercapacitors applications because of their better surface area and porosity compared to the commercial activated carbons. In this paper, the production of nanoporous carbons by zinc chloride activation of Washnut seed at different temperatures (400-1000 °C) and their electrochemical supercapacitance performances in aqueous electrolyte (1 M H2SO4) are reported. The prepared nanoporous carbon materials exhibit hierarchical micro- and meso-pore architectures. The surface area and porosity increase with the carbonization temperature and achieved the highest values at 800 °C. The surface area was found in the range of 922-1309 m2 g-1. Similarly, pore volume was found in the range of 0.577-0.789 cm3 g-1. The optimal sample obtained at 800 °C showed excellent electrochemical energy storage supercapacitance performance. Specific capacitance of the electrode was calculated 225.1 F g-1 at a low current density of 1 A g-1. An observed 69.6% capacitance retention at 20 A g-1 indicates a high-rate capability of the electrode materials. The cycling stability test up to 10,000 cycles revealed the outstanding stability of 98%. The fascinating surface textural properties with outstanding electrochemical performance reveal that Washnut seed would be a feasible agro-waste precursor to prepare nanoporous carbon materials as a low-cost and scalable supercapacitor electrode.
Keywords: Washnut seed; chemical activation; micro/mesoporous carbon; supercapacitor.