Lignin is one of the most common naturally occurring macromolecule. It is found alongside cellulose and hemicellulose to provide structure to plants. Lignin is made from three different phenolic alcohols, paracoumaryl alcohol, syringyl alcohol, and sinapyl alcohol, and the ratio between these three alcohol changes depending on the source of the lignin. A majority of the lignin is consumed during the liquor recovery cycle in the kraft pulping process. Other uses of lignin include the development of aromatic compounds and fuels. One current interest is using lignin to develop carbon fibers to act as supercapacitors.<br/> <br/>To develop these carbon fibers, the lignin undergoes a process known as electrospinning to develop lignin nanofibers. These nanofibers are then carbonized under an inert atmosphere to prevent the combustion of the fibers. In order to improve the capacitance, the surface area of the fibers is increased using an activation process. In addition to activation, the carbon fiber undergoes a surface treatment to grow nickel hydroxide nanocrystals on the surface. This not only increases the surface area, but the nickel hydroxide nanocrystals react with the electrolyte solution to further increase the capacitance of the carbon fiber.

Modification of lignin-based carbon fiber for electrochemical applications

ACS Spring 2022

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