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  • Activated carbons from KOH-...
    Elmouwahidi, Abdelhakim; Zapata-Benabithe, Zulamita; Carrasco-Marín, Francisco; Moreno-Castilla, Carlos

    Bioresource technology, 05/2012, Volume: 111
    Journal Article

    Activated carbons were prepared by KOH-activation of argan seed shells (ASS). The activated carbon with the largest surface area and most developed porosity was superficially treated to introduce oxygen and nitrogen functionalities. Activated carbons with a surface area of around 2100m²/g were obtained. Electrochemical measurements were carried out with a three-electrode cell using 1M H₂SO₄ as electrolyte and Ag/AgCl as reference electrode. The O-rich activated carbon showed the lowest capacitance (259F/g at 125mA/g) and the lowest capacity retention (52% at 1A/g), due to surface carboxyl groups hindering electrolyte diffusion into the pores. Conversely, the N-rich activated carbon showed the highest capacitance (355F/g at 125mA/g) with the highest retention (93% at 1A/g), due to its well-developed micro-mesoporosity and the pseudocapacitance effects of N functionalities. This capacitance performance was among the highest reported for other activated carbons from a large variety of biomass precursors.