Sustainable energy storage: hazelnut shell-biochar as electrode material for supercapacitors

The imperative need to move away from fossil fuels is intensifying the exploration of alternative energy sources and storage solutions. Integrating electrochemical energy devices, such as batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells with existing forms of energy is essential to achieve a sustainable energy landscape. Supercapacitors have attracted great interest, because of their high-power density, long lifetime and fast charging capability. In this context, biomass emerges as a promising resource for electrode production by generating carbon chars through thermal processes. In this work, new biochars were prepared starting from the waste biomass hazelnut shells and tested as new electrode materials. The electrochemical behaviour of the obtained biochars were investigated through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements in different aqueous electrolyte solutions, showing promising performances as functional materials to be implemented in electrodes fabrication.