Preparation and properties of pitch carbon based supercapacitor

Abstract

Using the mesophase pitch as precursor, KOH and CO₂ as activated agents, the activated carbon electrode material was fabricated by physical-chemical combined activated technique for supercapacitor. The influence of activated process on the pore structure of activated carbon was analyzed and 14 F supercapacitor with working voltage of 2.5 V was prepared. The charge and discharge behaviors, the properties of cyclic voltammetry, specific capacitance, equivalent serials resistance (ESR), cycle properties, and temperature properties of prepared supercapacitor were examined. The cyclic voltammetry curve results indicate that the carbon based supercapacitor using the self-made activated carbon as electrode materials shows the desired capacitance properties. In 1 mol/L Et₄NBF₄/AN electrolyte, the capacitance and ESR of the supercapacitor are 14.7 F and 60 mΩ, respectively. The specific capacitance of activated carbon electrode materials is 99.6 F/g; its energy density can reach 2.96 W·h/kg under the large current discharge condition. There is no obvious capacitance decay that can be observed after 5000 cycles. The leakage current is below 0.2 mA after keeping the voltage at 2.5 V for 1 h. Meanwhile, the supercapacitor shows desired temperature property; it can be operated normally in the temperature ranging from −40 °C to 70 °C.