Activated carbon cloth-based electrode for supercapacitor applications
Abstract
Supercapacitive performance of activated carbon cloths (CCs) were investigated, as well the effects of varying scanning rates and varying concentration of electrolyte. Pristine CC was electrochemically exfoliated using 0.5 M H2SO4. Samples were then compared under an optical microscope and characterized via Raman spectroscopy for examination of the structural properties of the CCs. They were then activated in varying concentrations of H2SO4. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were done to obtain the areal capacitance (CA) of the samples and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were also obtained to find the equivalent series resistance (ESR). It was revealed that the activated carbon cloth (ACC) had greater areal capacitance. As the scanning rate was varied, it was found there is greater CA for smaller scanning rates (because this allows for more ion interaction) and that the optimal concentration is at 1.0 M.