Abstract
In this research, the enhancement in electrochemical performance of pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes by surface modification is investigated. For the proposed microfabrication process, pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on their surface are obtained by developing GM-1060 photoresist in mixture of propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) and CNTs, and following pyrolysis of a micropatterned photoresist. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/H2SO4 electrolyte (1 M) was applied to assemble this carbon/CNT microelectrode-based all-solid-state microsupercapacitor (carbon/CNT-MSC). The carbon/CNT-MSC shows a higher electrochemical performance compared with that of pyrolyzed carbon microelectrode-based MSC (carbon-MSC). The specific areal and volumetric capacitances of carbon/CNT-MSC (4.80 mF/cm2 and 32.0 F/cm3) are higher than those of carbon-MSC (3.52 mF/cm2 and 23.4 F/cm3) at the scan rate of 10 mV/s. In addition, higher energy density and power density of carbon/CNT-MSC (2.85 mWh/cm3 and 1.98 W/cm3) than those of carbon-MSC (2.08 mWh/cm3 and 1.41 W/cm3) were also achieved. This facile surface modification and optimization are potentially promising, being highly compatible with modern microfabrication technologies and allowing integration of highly electrically conductive CNTs into pyrolyzed carbon to assemble MSCs with improved electrochemical performance. Moreover, this method can be potentially applied to other high-performance micro/nanostructures and microdevices/systems.
Highlights
Supercapacitors (SCs), an important kind of energy storage device, have many advantages over traditional energy storage devices [1,2,3]
There are three kinds of SCs employed in energy storage, namely electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), pseudocapacitors, and hybrid SCs
EDLC electrodes usually have high specific surface area (SSA) and electrical conductivity such as activated carbons (AC), carbon aerogels, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, carbide-derived carbon (CDC), and others [4]. Owing to their high SSA and that no chemical reactions occur between electrode and electrolyte, EDLCs usually possess high power density, fast charge/discharge rates, and ultralong lifetimes [5,6,7]
Summary
Supercapacitors (SCs), an important kind of energy storage device, have many advantages over traditional energy storage devices [1,2,3]. EDLC electrodes usually have high specific surface area (SSA) and electrical conductivity such as activated carbons (AC), carbon aerogels, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, carbide-derived carbon (CDC), and others [4]. For carbon/CNT-MSC, a higher specific areal capacitance of 4.80 mF/cm (32.0 F/cm3) was obtained at the scan rate of 10 mV/s, maximum energy density was 2.85 mWh/cm and maximum power density was 1.98 W/cm. For carbon/CNT-MSC, a higher specific areal capacitance of 4.80 mF/cm (32.0 F/cm3) was obtained at the scan rate of 10 mV/s, maximum energy density was 2.85 mWh/cm and maximum power density was 1.98 W/cm3 By this facile surface modification method, a significant improvement in performance of MSC is achieved. This method could potentially be used for the application of high-performance microelectrodes
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