Electrochemical capacitor improvement fabricated by carbon microfiber composite with admicellar-modified carbon nanotube

Abstract

Conventional electrochemical capacitors are usually made from activated carbon microfiber electrode, which has relatively low electrochemical capacitance. To improve performance of electrochemical capacitor, carbon nanotube (CNT) was used to incorporate in carbon microfiber. Firstly, CNT was coated with ultra-thin polyacrylonitrile (PAN) film coating using the admicellar polymerization technique to improve its dispersion in PAN matrix. Secondly, the mix solution of admicellar-modified CNT (Ad-CNT) and PAN in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was prepared to produce microfiber by electrospinning. Lastly, microfiber was collected as a sheet, which was then stabilized and carbonized to be used as an electrode. The fabricated electrode using Ad-CNT/PAN was analyzed by SEM and TEM. SEM images show that the microfiber was uniform with approximately 2 μm average diameter. TEM images display well alignment and good dispersion of Ad-CNT in the matrix. The electrode made from Ad-CNT/PAN exhibited a high specific capacitance of 125Fg−1 at a scan rate of 3mVs−1 (based on cyclic voltammetry) and 82Fg−1 at a specific current of 1Ag−1 (based on galvanostatic charge/discharge). The percentage of relative specific capacitance retention of the prepared electrode was 70% after 1000 cycles. The results clearly show that the Ad-CNT played an effective role in improving dispersion in electrode leading to increase in electrical conductivity as well as electrical capacitance of the capacitor.