White-Rot Fungal Pretreatment for High-Performance Bamboo-Derived Carbon-Based Supercapacitor Electrodes

Bamboo, as a rapidly renewable biomass material, has garnered significant attention in contemporary research due to its cost effectiveness as a viable source for supercapacitor electrode materials. However, untreated bamboo as an electrode material often leads to poor connectivity and uneven pore distribution. This study introduces a novel approach by using bamboo-derived biological carbon as a conductive substrate, subjecting it to carbonization through white-rot fungal pretreatment to enhance the pore structure and then loading it with nano-MnO₂ sheets via a hydrothermal process. The result is a binderless, self-supporting supercapacitor electrode material, denoted as MnO₂/hyphae/bamboo-derived carbon (HBC-2M). When compared to untreated bamboo carbon (HBC-0), HBC-2M exhibits an increased number of energy storage sites, enhanced electrolyte ion transport channels, and superior electrochemical performance. HBC-2M achieves a maximum mass-specific capacitance of 133.69 F·g^-1 and a maximum area-specific capacitance of 2367.95 mF·cm^-2 and retains approximately 87.46% of its capacitance after 2000 cycles. This research suggests a promising future for bamboo charcoal in supercapacitors.