Preparation of carbon microtubes by carbonizing the fluff of chinar tree and their application as supercapacitor electrodes

The fluff (flower pollen) of chinar tree was carbonized to prepare carbon microtubes (CMTs) due to their natural micro-tubular structure. The as-prepared CMTs were well characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The outer diameters of CMTs are in the range of 20~30 μm and the wall thickness is about 1 μm. Many micro- and meso-pores exist in their outer and inner walls, and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area is 265 m²·g^-1. The CMTs were demonstrated to show a typical characteristics of electrochemical double layer capacitance, indicating their potential in supercapacitors.