Electrical properties of nano carbon produced from organic waste

In this study, surface and electrical characteristics of carbon materials produced from organic waste were examined. First, used coffee grounds were carbonized and activated, and optimal times and temperatures of the carbonization-activation processing were examined, and Brunauer-Emmentt-Teller (BET) surface area, pore volume and pore size distributions were analyzed. Secondly, produced activated carbons were applied to the polarized electrodes in electric double layer capacitor (EDLC). The capacitances and internal resistances of the fabricated EDLC were evaluated from CV (cyclic voltammetry) measurement and alternating current impedance spectroscopy. As the result, specific surface area of the activated carbon processed for 1 hour at 600°C in the carbonization and 2 hour at 1000°C in the activation was the highest in prepared materials. Therefore, capacitors using the activated carbon with high surface area of 1596 m²/g showed the highest capacitance (146 F/g) among the fabricated samples. It was also found that the use of the activated carbon made from coffee grounds help improve the energy density of the EDLC. It was clearly understood that the produced activated carbon have a lot of micro pores less than 2 nm diameter, which contributed to the formation of an electric double layer.