Green polymer electrolyte and activated charcoal-based supercapacitor for energy harvesting application: Electrochemical characteristics

The aim of this study is to address the growing concern about microplastics in the ocean and their potential harm to human health through ingestion. The MPs issue is largely a result of the increasing demand for electronic devices and their components. To tackle this challenge, the research aimed to develop a green polymer electrolyte that used glycerol as a plasticizing agent to improve ionic conductivity. The polymer host included chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol and was composed of sodium acetate. To evaluate the performance of the polymer electrolyte, various analytical techniques were used, including impedance and electrochemical studies. The ionic conductivity of 7.56 × 10−5 S·cm−1 was recorded. The dielectric property study confirmed the ionic conduction process in the system and revealed the existence of non-Debye type relaxation, as indicated by asymmetric peaks of tanδ spectra. The alternating conductivity exhibits three distinguished regions. The polymer electrolyte was discovered to be electrochemically stable up to 2.33 V and capable of storing energy as a non-Faradaic electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC). The cyclic voltammetry pattern is a leaf like shape. The EDLC was able to be charged and discharged up to 1 V, and it showed cyclability and could be used in low-voltage applications.