Study of the Activated Charcoal Structure from Water Hyacinth Based on Carbonization Temperature Variations and Activators

摘要

The quality of the carbon material for application of electrodes in the battery is indicated by its ability to intercalate ions, atoms or molecules. Graphite is a carbon material with good intercalation capability. In this research, a carbon material in the form of activated charcoal produced from biomass of water hyacinth has been prepared, which is carbonized at various temperatures of 400, 500, and 600 °C with three different activators of H_3PO_4, KOH and ZnCl_2. The activated charcoal will be used as a cathode composite in lithium sulfur batteries. To determine the quality of the activated charcoal, the structure properties of activated charcoal were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Several parameters that are determined from XRD data included the degree of crystallinity, and the degree of graphitization (Y). The degree of crystallinity was found in the ranges between 5.56% and 12.6%, where activated charcoal was dominated by amorphous structures. The value of the degree of graphitization was about 36%.