Improving the electrochemical performance of biomass-derived carbon electrode-active materials for supercapacitor applications has recently attracted considerable attention. Herein, we develop hybrid electrode materials from rice-husk-derived porous carbon (RH-C) materials and β-Ni(OH)₂ via a facile solid-state reaction strategy comprising two steps. The prepared RH-C/Ni(OH)₂ (C–Ni) was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS)), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to acquire the physical and chemical information, which was used to demonstrate the successful fabrication of C–Ni. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurement results confirmed that the thermal stability of C–Ni changed due to the presence of Ni(OH)₂. As expected, C–Ni possesses a high capacitance of ∼952 F/g at a current density of 1.0 A/g. This result is higher than that of pure biomass-based carbon materials under the three-electrode system. This facile preparation method, which was used to synthesize the electrode-active materials, can extend to the value-added utility of other waste biomass materials as high-performing supercapacitor electrodes for energy storage applications.

The preparation of reusable and eco-friendly materials from renewable biomass resources such as cellulose is an inevitable choice for sustainable development. In this work, cellulose was dissolved in 7 wt % NaOH/12 wt % urea aqueous solution at −12 °C with rapid stirring. Cellulose microspheres (Cels) were fabricated by a sol–gel transition method. Subsequently, novel magnetic Ag–Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) supported on cellulose microspheres were successfully constructed by an in situ one-pot synthesis. The magnetic cellulose microspheres (MCels) displayed a spherical shape with mesoporous structure and had a narrow particle size distribution (10–20 μm). Many nanopores with a pore diameter of 5–40 nm were observed in MCels. The Ag–Fe₃O₄ NPs were immobilized by anchoring with the hydroxyl groups on the surface of Cels. MCels were applied as a microreactor to evaluate their catalytic activities. 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) could be reduced to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in 5 min, catalyzed by MCels. Moreover, the magnetic microspheres exhibited a small hysteresis loop and low coercivity. Thus, MCels could be quickly gathered in water under a magnetic field in 10 s, as well as almost 9 cycle times, maintaining relatively high catalytic activity. In this work, cellulose matrix as the catalyst support could be biodegraded completely in the environment. It provided a green process for the utilization of biomass in nanocatalytic applications.

Tannin/cellulose microspheres (T/C) were successfully prepared via a facile homogeneous reaction in a water/oil (W/O) emulsion for removing Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution. The structure of the microspheres was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and a zeta potential test. The effects of pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, and temperature on adsorption ability were investigated. The results showed that T/C microspheres could combine Pb(II)ions via electrostatic attractions and physical adsorption. Adsorption kinetics could be better described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption behaviors were in agreement with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model with a fitting correlation coefficient of 0.9992. The maximum adsorption capacity was 23.75 mg/g from the Langmuir isotherm evaluation at 308K with an initial pH of 5. The results suggested that tannin/cellulose microspheres could be a low-cost and effective adsorbent for removing Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution.