Carbon derived from bacterial cellulose could offer a more sustainable path to building the electrodes inside supercapacitors, according to a systematic review from Hasanuddin University in Indonesia.

Professor Dahlang Tahir led the review, which analyzed 49 journal articles indexed in Scopus covering bacterial cellulose-derived carbon, or BCC, electrodes. The review compared different fabrication strategies — including direct carbonization, chemical activation, heteroatom doping, and composite formation — as well as different pre-treatment and testing methods, including freeze-drying versus non-freeze-drying preparation and three-electrode versus two-electrode test setups.

Freeze-drying emerged as the most common pre-carbonization method, largely because it preserves the nanofiber network that gives bacterial cellulose its useful structure. Composite electrodes, which combine BCC with pseudocapacitive materials, achieved the highest capacitance among the approaches reviewed. Most of the BCC electrodes surveyed remain at the lab-scale proof-of-concept stage rather than commercial deployment.

The review was made available online in June 2026 and is slated for print publication in the Journal of Energy Storage in September 2026.

Journal: Journal of Energy Storage
Article Title: “Bacterial cellulose-derived carbon electrodes for supercapacitors: Fabrication strategies, electrochemical performance, and mechanical properties — A review”
DOI: 10.1016/j.est.2026.123044
Publication Date: 15-Sep-2026

Source: EurekAlert