Abstract
Carbon materials used as an electrode for aqueous supercapacitors should be synthesized with a porous structure and hydrophilic properties to facilitate the adsorption and desorption of electrolyte ions for charge storage. To enlarge the specific surface area, the porous morphology should contain micropores (diameter < 2 nm). Mesopores (diameter: 2 – 50 nm) should also be present for facile ionic transport. Hydrophilic carbon can be achieved by introducing hydrophilic functional groups on the surface. Here, hydrophilic porous carbon was synthesized by mixing a polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) resin precursor with copper oxide (CuO) and tetrahydrofuran (THF), followed by heat treatment at 750°C. CuO acted as a template during the heat treatment, creating large mesopores. The generated HCl from PVDC combined with CuO to form CuCl2, contributing to the micropore formation. THF played a role in introducing hydrophilic functional groups on the carbon surface, to promote the adsorption of aqueous electrolyte ions. The activated carbon synthesized using CuO and THF exhibited a specific capacitance of 90 F g−1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 in 0.5 M K2SO4 electrolyte. The synthesized activated carbon demonstrated excellent rate capability, retaining 82% of its capacitance at 10 times faster charging rate (50 vs. 5 mV s−1).
Translated title of the contribution | Enhanced Rate Performance of Supercapacitor Electrode Using Hydrophilic Porous Carbon Synthesized from Polyvinylidene Chloride-Resin with CuO and Tetrahydrofuran |
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Original language | Korean |
Pages (from-to) | 981-988 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Korean Institute of Metals and Materials |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2024 |
Keywords
- Aqueous supercapacitor
- CuO
- Functional group
- Hydrophilicity
- Porous carbon
- Template