Abstract:
Sungkai leaves are known to contain natural compounds, and can also be used as a
basis for making porous activated carbon sources for electrode materials in
supercapacitors. This study aims to determine the effect of physical activation on the
physical and electrochemical properties of supercapacitors. The porous carbon
framework was obtained from Sungkai leaf biomass by optimizing the chemical
activation reagent (ZnCl2). Sungkai leaves are biomass for supercapacitor cell
electrode applications through the pre-carbonization stage at 100°C, 150°C, 200°C,
250°C for 30 minutes each. The next process is chemical activation using ZnCl2
activator with a concentration of 0.5M, then the carbonization process uses N2 gas at
600°C and physical activation uses CO2 gas with a temperature variation of 850°C.
The physics-activated Sungkai leaf carbon electrode at 850°C had a mass shrinkage
percentage from 0.632 to 0.234 g, a diameter shrinkage from 1.97 to 1.42 cm, a
thickness shrinkage from 0.23 to 0.18 cm, and a density decrease from 0.882 to 0.658
g/cm3 with a shrinkage percentage of 25.39%.
