Self-synthesized carbon nanotubes exhibiting temperature-responsive effects to “modify” honeycomb lignin-based carbon aerogels for supercapacitor applications

Supercapacitors, known for their long cycle life and high-power density, are pivotal in various industrial and everyday applications. Addressing the dual challenges of green chemistry and the high-value utilization of lignin, this study introduces a novel synthesis process of carbon aerogels. These aerogels incorporate temperature-responsive carbon nanotubes (CNTs), synthesized via a one-pot method using magnesium lignosulfonate as precursor. Notably, the optimized carbon aerogel (AC-600) demonstrates a specific capacitance of 369 F g −1 at a current density of 1 A g −1 and retains 100 % capacitance after 20,000 charge/discharge cycles at 10 A g −1 . It also achieves an energy density of 17.6 Wh kg −1 and a power density of 489.9 W kg −1 . This paper proposes a novel strategy of replacing randomly dispersed carbon nanoparticles with self-synthesized, temperature-responsive CNTs, enhancing the structural integrity of honeycomb lignin-based carbon aerogels. This innovative approach opens new avenues for the efficient use of lignin-based aerogels in energy storage technologies.