Abstract
Natural rubber has received a great interest to be used for electrochemical applications recently. But, Sri Lankan natural rubber has not yet been considered for such activity other than exporting and using for some manufacturing processes. Main objective of the present study is investigating the candidacy of Sri Lankan natural rubber in electrochemical double layer capacitors. Methyl grafted natural rubber was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran and it was later mixed with a Li salt. Using the solvent casting method, it was possible to prepare a thin, bubble free film. It was sandwiched in between two identical Sri Lankan natural graphite electrodes. Performance evaluation was accomplished with cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge discharge test. Single electrode specific capacitance was depending on the potential window and the scan rate of cycling. Nyquist plots confirmed the capacitive behavior at low frequency region. The average specific discharge capacity was 0.31 Fg-1. Obtained results show that natural rubber electrolytes are suitable candidates for electrochemical double layer capacitors and they are also encouraging to proceed towards improving the performance further.
Highlights
Natural rubber (NR) is one of the three main export crops in Sri Lanka since long ago
Figure 1 shows the cyclic voltammogramme (CV) obtained by varying the potential window of cycling
CV of an ideal electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) takes the shape of a parallelogram
Summary
Natural rubber (NR) is one of the three main export crops in Sri Lanka since long ago. A small quantity has been used for few manufacturing industries. Many of the rubber estates have been converted to other activities and as a result, some local rubber product manufactures have been forced to import rubber to carry forward their processes without any disturbance. This has raised many drawbacks including a price hike. Much attention has been centered on rechargeable cells. They have obtained NR mainly from Malaysia. Upto date, no such considerable attention has been aimed at using Sri Lankan NR for those applications in the field of energy and power
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
