Electrochemical Investigation of Activated Carbon Electrode Supercapacitors

Abstract

Supercapacitors, also called as ultracapacitors, are electrochemical energy-storage devices that exploit the electrostatic interaction between high-surface-area nanoporous electrodes and electrolyte ions, combining properties of conventional batteries and conventional capacitors. A symmetrical activated carbon (AC) electrode supercapacitor has been fabricated in a simple and inexpensive manner. The AC has been synthesized from Charcoal, has activated in a furnace at high temperatures. The electrode was fabricated by casting slurry made of AC and blended in a polymer solution on the counter electrode (current collector), appeared to have high mechanical strength. The electrochemical performance of the prepared samples was tested in 1 M KCl solution by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge discharge technique, and impedance spectroscopy. The surface and cross-section of electrode was observed with SEM. Capacitance of fabricated supercapacitor has a favorable capacitance in the range of 65–70 F/g with low resistance. The AC electrode supercapacitor has excellent electro chemical reversibility, good cycle stability with a low fading rate of specific capacitance even after 500 cycles, which is promising for energy storage applications.