Binder-less activated carbon electrode from gelam wood for use in supercapacitors

Nirwan Syarif,Widayanti Wibowo,Ivandini A Tribidasari

doi:10.5599/jese.2013.0028

Abstract

This work focused on the relation between the porous structure of activated carbon and its capacitive properties. Three types of activated carbon monoliths were used as the electrodes in a half cell electrochemical system. One monolith was produced from activated carbon and considered to be a binder-less electrode. Two others were produced from acid and high pressure steam oxidized activated carbon. The micrographs clearly indicate that three electrodes have different porous structures. Both porosity and surface area of carbons increased due to the formation of grains during oxidation. This fact specified that an acid oxidized carbon monolith will have relatively higher capacitance compared to non-oxidized and steam oxidized monoliths. Maximum capacitance values for acid, steam oxidized and non-oxidized electrodes were 27.68, 2.23 and 1.20 F g -1 , respectively.

Highlights

Supercapacitors have become the focus attention of many researchers for decades due to their potential application as energy storage devices in relation to their high energy density, great power density and long cycle life
We report the preparation and characterization of free binder activated carbon monolith electrodes prepared from Gelam wood, which were activated by physical process under N2/CO2 gas and followed by surface oxidation using nitric acid and high pressure steam
CCP was subjected for surface oxidation using concentrated nitric acid and high pressure steam, both labeled as CCPHNO3 and CCPWOT respectively

Summary

Introduction

Supercapacitors have become the focus attention of many researchers for decades due to their potential application as energy storage devices in relation to their high energy density, great power density and long cycle life. We report the preparation and characterization of free binder activated carbon monolith electrodes prepared from Gelam wood, which were activated by physical process under N2/CO2 gas and followed by surface oxidation using nitric acid and high pressure steam. CCP was subjected for surface oxidation using concentrated nitric acid and high pressure steam, both labeled as CCPHNO3 and CCPWOT respectively.

Results

Conclusion