Comparative Study of Electrical Conductivity on Activated Carbons Prepared from Various Cellulose Materials

The objective of this study was to calculate the electrical conductivity of the activated carbons obtained from various cellulose materials (sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, cotton cloth and waste newspaper) by a two-stage process. The DC conductivity was calculated by a two-probe method. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray analysis confirmed the surface morphology and formation of graphene multilayer, respectively. The carbonization temperature has a distinct effect on the electrochemical performances of the cellulose materials. The activated carbon compressed at 750.12 kPa offered the highest electrical conductivity for all the other samples. It may be due to the dense packing of the material, collapse of the pores and decrease in air gap between the carbon particles as well as a combination of multilayer graphene, which could be the factors accountable for the increase in conductivity with compression pressures. The conductivity increases with an increase in the temperature. In addition, all the carbon samples showed a good electrochemical property and the specific capacitance at the scan rate of 2–3 mV/s.