Synthesis of activated carbon and its rGO composite using pomegranate peels: its photocatalytic and electrode material for high capacitance supercapacitor applications

Abstract

The peels of pomegranate fruits were employed in the current work to produce activated carbon (AC) using the high temperature carbonization method. The generated activated carbon using pomegranate peel (AC-PP) powder was discovered to have a layered and porous form as revealed by scanning electron microscopic images. It was discovered that activated carbon had an energy gap (E_g) of 4.454 eV. The photocatalytic experiments performed for the degradation of fast blue dye reveal that after 120 min of UV light irradiation, the AC-PP powder achieve a decolorization rate of 62.9%, respectively. Current was collected through the nickel mesh, and the electrochemical elements in rGO, the principal active component in AC-PP powder, were supported by the mesh. Nickel mesh electrodes were analysed using impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Both AC-PP and AC-PP-rGO electrodes' hydrogen diffusion coefficients were determined to be 1.134 10^–4 and 0.0014 cm² s⁻¹, respectively. Experiments with galvanostatic charge–discharge revealed the produced AC-PP and AC-PP-rGO electrodes' superior capacitance potential, which is useful in the fabrication of supercapacitors. The AC-PP and AC-PP-rGO electrodes have 175.6 and 324.8 F g⁻¹ specific capacitances. These unique impacts can also be assessed by energy storage performance using affordable carbon resources in various applications. These novel results might be used for developing up particular resources for environmental and power storage applications.