A number of lab-engineered nanomaterials have thus far just fallen short of providing a suitable alternative material for supercapacitor electrodes. But the answer may be found in the nearest ashtray. That's right: the much-despised cigarette butt may, in fact, offer the solution.
A group of researchers in South Korea has discovered that the material that makes up used cigarette butts outperforms carbon, graphene and carbon nanotubes in energy storage.
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Nanotechnology, took used cigarette filters and found that under a nitrogen-containing atmosphere, they could be transformed into a porous carbon material that by itself has a pore structure that is perfect for energy storage in the electrodes of supercapacitors.
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