Abstract
We report ecological and low-cost carbon nanotube (CNT) supercapacitors fabricated using a simple, scalable solution processing method, where the use of a highly porous and electrically conductive active material eliminates the need for a current collector. Electrodes were fabricated on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate from a printable multi-wall CNT ink, where the CNTs are solubilized in water using xylan as a dispersion agent. The dispersion method facilitates a very high concentration of CNTs in the ink. Supercapacitors were assembled using a paper separator and an aqueous NaCl electrolyte and the devices were characterized with a galvanostatic discharge method defined by an industrial standard. The capacitance of the \(2\hbox { cm}^2\) devices was \(6\hbox { mF/cm}^2\) (2.3 F/g) and equivalent series resistance \(80\,\Omega \). Low-cost supercapacitors fabricated from safe and environmentally friendly materials have potential applications as energy storage devices in ubiquitous and autonomous intelligence as well as in disposable low-end products.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Veijo Kangas of Morphona for the preparation of the ink. The authors acknowledge funding from the Academy of Finland (Dec. No. 138146 and 139881) and the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES, Dec. No. 40049/12). S. Lehtimäki would like to thank Tekniikan edistämissäätiö for supporting the research.
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Lehtimäki, S., Tuukkanen, S., Pörhönen, J. et al. Low-cost, solution processable carbon nanotube supercapacitors and their characterization. Appl. Phys. A 117, 1329–1334 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-014-8547-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-014-8547-4