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.

The chemical reduction progression behaviour of transition metals (Mo, Zr, W, Ce, and Co) doped on NiO was studied using temperature programmed reduction (TPR) analysis. A wet impregnation method was applied to synthesise the doped NiO series catalysts. The reduction progress of the catalysts was attained by using a reductant gas at the concentration of 40% v/v CO/N2. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was employed to determine the composition of the reduced phases. Undoped NiO was reduced at 384℃ to obtain a cubic phase of NiO. It was observed that Ce/NiO exhibited the lowest reduction temperature of 370℃ among all catalysts. This phenomenon might be due to a higher surface area of Ce/NiO compared to undoped NiO, which facilitated a faster reduction reaction. The rest of the doped NiO series catalysts (Co/NiO, Mo/NiO, W/NiO and Zr/NiO) demonstrated a higher reduction temperature compared to undoped NiO. New peaks in the XRD pattern were observed only for the reduced catalysts of Mo/NiO and W/NiO, which were associated with monoclinic MoO2 and WO2.72 phases, respectively. The formation of new compounds or more stable nickel alloys led to a slower reduction reaction than undoped NiO. Therefore, Ce/NiO was the most efficient catalyst in promoting the formation of Ni under the CO atmosphere.

The reduction behavior of cerium nickel oxide (Ce/NiO) catalyst was investigated by using temperature programmed reduction (TPR) with exposure of 40% (v/v) carbon monoxide (CO) in nitrogen atmosphere as a reductant agent. The Ce/NiO catalysts were prepared by using the conventional impregnation method. The reduction characteristics of NiO to Ni were examined up to 700 ºC and followed by isothermal reduction. The TPR profiles of doped NiO slightly shifted to a lower temperature from 375 to 366 ºC when Ce loading was increased from 3% to 10% (wt./ wt.), respectively. Whereas the undoped NiO was reduced at a higher temperature of 387 ºC. XRD diffractogram of the catalysts showed a complete reduction of NiO to Ni. The interaction between cerium and nickel ions for Ce/NiO series leads to a slight decrease in the reduction temperature. Fine sharp particles of Ce deposited on the NiO surfaces were observed through the FESEM images indicating some morphology modification occurred on NiO. It was found that the addition of 10% (w/w) of Ce on NiO also exhibited a larger BET surface area (11.31 m2g-1) and a smaller average pore diameter (17.7 nm). Based on these results, it is interesting to note that the addition of Ce to NiO has a remarkable influence in reducing the temperature of the reduction process. The 5% Ce/NiO was found sufficient to enhance the reducibility of NiO at a lower temperature.