Scientists propose making coating for electrodes of supercapacitors of cigarette butts

Cigarette butts - the most common trash

South Korean scientists have proposed a technology to improve the performance of supercapacitors, which simultaneously reduces the amount of garbage. They managed to convert cigarette butts into carbon material, superior in its properties to the current materials used in power supplies. Their work was published in the journal Nanotechnology.

Carbon, as an inexpensive, well-conducting current and having a large surface area, is used to coat electrodes in batteries. To improve work efficiency, it is necessary to improve any of the characteristics of this coating. Researchers around the world are working to increase energy intensity and stability of the FE.

“Our research has shown that used cigarette filters can be turned into high-performance carbon material using a simple process in one step. Such technology at the same time increases the availability of energy and improves the environment, ”shared his joy with the co-author, Professor Lee Jonhop from Seoul State University. - Many countries are working to ban the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials for cigarettes that pollute the environment. Our way is one of the ways to avoid environmental pollution. ”
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According to some estimates, annually people throw out more than 750 thousand tons of cigarette butts. This is one of the most common types of garbage with which we meet in everyday life. The stub decomposes only after 5-7 years.

Scientists have taken advantage of the fact that almost all cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate fibers. Using the pyrolysis technology, that is, the thermal decomposition of organic natural compounds with a lack of oxygen, they obtained a very porous material with a large surface area.

“A high-performance material for supercapacitors should have a large surface area that can be achieved with porous materials,” explains the professor. “The combination of pores of various sizes provides greater energy consumption — the fundamental characteristic of a supercapacitor, which must be quickly charged and discharged.”

After the material was manufactured, the scientists tested it in real work and found that its efficiency was higher than that of its counterparts — industrial carbon coating, graphene, or carbon nanotubes.