A new approach to solid waste management: fabrication of supercapacitor electrodes from solid leather wastes using aqueous KOH electrolyte

Porous carbons prepared by carbonization of solid leather wastes were employed for supercapacitor applications using KOH electrolyte. Advanced instrumentation techniques were used to determine the physicochemical properties of the porous carbon samples. Three-electrode configuration was used to investigate the electrochemical properties of porous carbon electrodes through cyclic voltammetry studies, galvanostatic charge–discharge tests, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques in 1 M KOH electrolyte. Porous carbons exhibit high specific surface areas in a range of 613–716 m² g⁻¹, as well as superior energy storage capacity as electrodes for supercapacitors. Porous carbon electrodes activated at 900 °C exhibited specific capacitance up to 1800 F/g in alkali medium. All the solid leather waste carbons established stable cycle performance over 5000 cycles. These desirable capacitive performances enable solid leather waste-derived carbons as a source of new materials for low-cost energy storage devices as well as supercapacitors. This paper put forwards a new concept of ‘waste to value-added products’ that can be a helping hand for leather industries and its solid waste management disposal problems. The highlights of this research work suggest that leather industries could implement and make it feasible for commercialization.