Self-Templating Synthesis of Biomass-Based Porous Carbon Nanotubes for Energy Storage and Catalytic Degradation Applications

Abstract

The crisis of lacking energy sources and the worsening environment are global problems, while biomass wastes are an under-exploited source of material for both energy and material generation. Herein, self-template decoction dregs of Ganoderma lucidum-derived porous carbon nanotubes (ST-DDLGC) were synthesized by a facile and scalable strategy to respond to these challenges. ST-DDLGC exhibited a large surface area (1731.51 m2 g−1) and high pore volume (0.76 cm3 g−1), and more importantly, it could remain the interlacing tubular structures of precursor, as well as extra hierarchical porous structures created on the tube wall. On the one hand, in the ST-DDLGC/PMS system, the degradation efficiency of capecitabine (CAP) reached approximately 97.3% within 120 min. Moreover, the ST-DDLGC showed high catalytic activity in a wide pH range of 3 to 9 and strong anti-interference to these typical and ubiquitous anions in wastewater and natural water bodies (i.e., H2PO4−, NO3−, Cl−, and HCO3−), in which a 1O2-dominated oxidation process was identified and non-radical mechanisms were deduced. On the other hand, the ST-DDLGC-based coin-type symmetrical supercapacitor presented outstanding electrochemical performance, with specific capacitances of up to 328.6 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, and cycling stability of up to 98.6% after 10,000 cycles at a current density of 2 A g−1. The superior properties of ST-DDLGC could be attributed to the unique porous tubular structure, which facilitated the mass transfer and exposed more active sites. This work indicated that the ST-DDLGC was a potential candidate for constructing inexpensive and advanced environment function material and energy storage devices.

Keywords: Ganoderma lucidum residue, Porous carbon nanotubes, Self-template method, Wastewater treatment, Supercapacitor electrode