Turn tree leaves into high-tech electronics

Scientists in Shandong, China have found a way to convert organic waste from Phoenix leaves, a plant commonly grown along roads in northern China, into a porous carbon material to manufacturing high-tech electronics.

According to a study published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, the work was led by Hongfang Ma of Qilu University of Technology, focusing primarily on turning waste into porous carbon materials. used in energy storage technology.

Although the process of turning leaves into substances that can be combined with electrodes to become materials used in high-tech electronics has been said for a long time, but has just stopped at simple stages.

Images of porous carbon particles taken with electron microscopy.(Photo: Science Daily).

According to the Chinese research team, first, dry leaves are ground into powder and then heated at 220 degrees C for 12 hours. The result is a powder of small carbon particles. Then the carbon powder is treated with potassium hydroxide solution to create porosity and continue heating at a temperature increase from 450 to 800 degrees Celsius.

The final product the scientists obtained was a black carbon powder with an extraordinary ability to charge.

In a series of standard electrochemical tests, the scientists found that the material is capable of producing supercapacitors of up to 367 Farads per gram, three times higher than graphene supercapacitors, the type of capacitor. The best in Vietnam today.

Capacitors are widely used components to store energy by keeping an electrical charge on two conductors, separated by an insulator. Super capacitors can store 10-100 times more energy than conventional capacitors.

They can charge and discharge much faster than conventional batteries. For this reason, supercapacitors are considered the optimal solution to meet the special energy storage needs in computer technology and vehicles using hybrid or electric motors.

The supercharged characteristic of carbon-foam material made from Phoenix leaves is much higher than carbon powder made from other biological materials. The researchers hope to further improve the electrochemical properties of the material by optimizing the process and allowing for doping or changing materials.

In addition to leaves, the team also successfully converted waste from potatoes, corn stalks, pine, straw and other agricultural wastes into carbon electrode materials.