Review on nanocellulose-based materials for supercapacitors applications

Energy storage and environmental protection are the major challenges of the 21st century, the world has to face. Extensive efforts have been made to develop Electrochemical Energy Storage (EES) devices like supercapacitors based on green and sustainable resources. In this consequence, Nano Cellulose (NC) has arisen up as a sustainable nanomaterial with its unique structure and properties, such as high specific modulus, excellent stability in most solvents, low toxicity, and natural abundance. Low cost and simple synthesis techniques further enables the NC as a promising alternative material for the fabrication of renewable energy storage devices. This comprehensive review summarizes recent research findings on the development of NC-based materials for supercapacitor applications. The NC types and synthesis methods, and supercapacitor components are briefly introduced. Findings on NC-based electrodes, separators, and electrolytes as supercapacitor components are emphases of this review. Finally, the paper reviews the earlier reported works and puts forward outlooks on the further advance of NC in the field of EES.