Silver nanoparticles–embedded catalytic pyrolysis of pomegranate peels—retained biochar as an electrode material for supercapacitors
摘要
The pyrolytic degradation of pomegranate peels with and without a catalyst at different operating temperatures is described. Initially, the pomegranate peels were subjected to elemental analysis (CHNS) and thermogravimetric (TG) Analysis to evaluate the elemental composition and thermal degradation behavior, respectively. Silver nanoparticles employed for the catalytic pyrolysis process were synthesized in the laboratory by adopting a wet chemical reduction technique with hydrazine hydrate as a reducing agent. The surface morphology and porosity of the synthesized nanoparticles were recorded by employing FESEM-EDX along with elemental mapping and BET analysis. About 30 g of dried pomegranate peels was admixed with silver nanoparticles (0.1 g and 0.2 g) individually and subjected to pyrolysis at different temperatures ranging 400–550 °C. The products obtained during both the thermal and catalytic pyrolysis were collected and stored separately for further studies. Also, the efficacy of biochar retained during the pyrolysis as an electrode material was evaluated. The specific capacitance of Ag nanoparticles (0.1 g) –embedded biochar was higher (276.94 Fg−1) at a scan rate of 10 mV/s than the thermal pyrolysis biochar, which may be due to the existence of a porous structure of the biochar and better electrical conductivity.
Graphical abstract