Edible Gelatin and Cosmetic Activated Carbon Powder as Biodegradable and Replaceable Materials in the Production of Supercapacitors

Abstract

Environmental pollution is currently one of the most worrying factors that endangers human health. Therefore, attempts are being made to reduce it by various means. One of the most important sources of pollution in terms of the current RoHS and REACH directives is the pollution caused by the use of chemical products for the production of sources for the storage and generation of electricity. The aim of this article is therefore to develop supercapacitors made of biodegradable materials and to investigate their electrical performance. Among the materials used to make these electrodes, activated carbon was identified as the main material and different combinations of gelatin, calligraphy ink and glycerol were used as the binders. The electrolyte consists of a hydrogel based on gelatin, NaCl 20 wt% solution and glycerol. In the context of this research, the electrolyte, which has the consistency of a gel, fulfills the dual function of the separator in the structure of the manufactured cells. Due to its structure, the electrolyte has good mechanical properties and can easily block the contact between the two electrodes. Most of the materials used for the production of supercapacitor cells are interchangeable materials, which are mainly used in other application fields such as the food or cosmetics industries, but were also successfully used for the investigations carried out in this research. Thus, remarkable results were recorded regarding a specific capacitance between 101.46 F/g and 233.26 F/g and an energy density between 3.52 Wh/kg and 8.09 Wh/kg, with a slightly lower power density between 66.66 W/kg and 85.76 W/kg for the manufactured supercapacitors.