Development of textile based supercapacitors using activated carbon from renewable banana peels and conductive polymer composites

Abstract Activated carbon was synthesized from banana peel using a two-step chemical activation process and blended with poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT-PSS) to improve the electrochemical performance of screen-printed electrodes fabricated on cotton fabrics. The use of carbonized banana peel (CBP) with PEDOT-PSS to develop reliable and sustainable supercapacitors was investigated. The work includes the design of a CBP: PEDOT-PSS axisymmetric electrode energy storage device with 0.1 M K 2 SO 4 electrolyte. The results showed that the screen-printed cotton fabric delivered an electrical conductivity of 4.1 ± 1.3 S/cm and a specific capacitance, and energy density of 52.1 F g −1 and 7.233 WhKg −1 at 5 mV/s scanning rate, respectively with a three-electrode system. The material showed a remarkable rate performance in an axisymmetric three-electrode cell configuration with an operating potential window of 0–0.5 V. In addition, the fabricated material demonstrated uniform deposition of PEDOT-PSS and CBP on the cotton fabric which was confirmed by both AFM and SEM image analysis. FTIR confirmed the structural properties of the composite. There is more consistency between the ideal supercapacitor modelled with COMSOL Multiphysics and the actual experimental results. The model curves aid in better design and performance and durability monitoring by offering a more thorough and precise characterization of the kinetics and thermodynamics of the supercapacitors. Consequently, the CBP: PEDOT-PSS composite presents a promising option for supercapacitor uses.