Supercapacitors with nanostructured activated carbon electrodes from natural precursors have sparked huge attention due to its great stability of cycle as well as low cost and excellent performance. In this study, activated carbon was produced from desiccated coconut residue by chemical activation with KOH. The supercapacitor was characterized in a supercapacitor configuration by cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge with potential window of 1V and current loads of 1A/g. Supercapacitor electrodes prepared from desiccated coconut residue exhibited excellent specific capacitance of 83 F/g.

Activated carbon derived from desiccated coconut residue was treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and analyzed for its supercapacitor performance. The sample was then characterized by N2 adsorption at -196°C, Energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in order to investigate its surface area, porosity and microcrystalline properties. Specific surface area (SSA) was found to be 1394.79 m2/g with high microporosity of 76.92 %. Electrochemical double-layer capacitance was studied by cyclic voltammetry with potential window of 1V. The presence of high microporosity properties affects the supercapacitor performance due to lack of accessibility of the electrolyte into the activated carbon pores. The calculated specific capacitance was found to be 42 F/g.

This study investigates the effect of temperature and impregnation ratio on the physicochemical properties of activated carbon prepared from agricultural waste; desiccated coconut residue (DCR) by chemical activation using sodium hydroxide (NaOH). DCR sample was first carbonized at three different temperatures for 1 hour at 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C respectively. The resulting chars were impregnated with NaOH at three different impregnation ratio; 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3 respectively and activated under nitrogen atmosphere for 1 hour at three different temperatures based on its carbonization temperature. The specific surface area was strongly affected by impregnation ratio in which increased with impregnation ratio. The specific surface area also increased with temperature but then decreased at highest desired temperature.