Dopamine functionalized activated carbon-based 3D printed biodegradable electrode for supercapacitors

Abstract

This study investigates dopamine-grafted activated carbon (DAC) composites synthesized via chemical bonding for use as biodegradable supercapacitor (SC) electrodes. This composite approach leverages both electrical double-layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance to achieve a significant increase in capacitance. The results of thermogravimetric, surface area and porosimeter analysis confirmed the grafting of dopamine on AC. 3D-printed devices were manufactured utilizing electrode materials based on DAC and AC to investigate their electrochemical performance. The DAC-based SC exhibited a specific capacitance of 24 Fg −1 , notably higher than the 15 Fg −1 specific capacitance observed in AC-based SC under a constant current of 1 mA. This difference highlights the important role played by the redox reaction facilitated by the grafted dopamine molecule. DAC holds promise as a biodegradable electrode material suitablse for SCs for low power wireless sensor application.