Binder-Free Locally Developed Activated Carbon Powder Based Electrode for Supercapacitor

Abstract

Nowadays, new technologies try to generate more energy to satisfy the demand of electricity. Therefore, storage of generated energy is becoming a highly important task. It is well known that the supercapacitors and batteries play a major role in the field of energy storage. When considering those options for storage electricity, supercapacitors were able to replace most of the capabilities encompassed in batteries and conventional capacitors with high energy density and the power density. In this research article, fabricating a novel supercapacitor using local coconut shell charcoal was discussed. It was focused on improving its performances without using a binder compound while keeping the fabrication process simple and inexpensive. Activated carbon powder used to fabricate the supercapacitor in this research was made from local coconut shell charcoal which was activated using steam activation method. The electrodes were fabricated as an electrode slurry made of activated carbon powder mixed with potassium hydroxide (KOH). It is found that the highest specific capacitance could obtain from the supercapacitor was 137 F/g. Charge-discharge curve indicated a power density of 42.6 Wkg-1 and energy density of 14.58 Whkg-1 which was a remarkable improvement for a supercapacitor fabricated without a binder compound.

Keywords: Activated carbon powder, Aqueous electrolyte, Cyclic Voltammetry, Electrochemical impedance, Supercapacitors.

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