Effect of conductive additives to gel electrolytes on activated
carbon-based supercapacitors
Farshad Barzegar,
Julien K. Dangbegnon,
Abdulhakeem Bello,
Damilola Y. Momodu,
A. T. Charlie Johnson Jr.,
Ncholu Manyala
Affiliations
Farshad Barzegar
Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials,
SARCHI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of
Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Julien K. Dangbegnon
Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials,
SARCHI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of
Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Abdulhakeem Bello
Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials,
SARCHI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of
Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
Damilola Y. Momodu
Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials,
SARCHI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of
Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
A. T. Charlie Johnson Jr.
Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104,
USA
Ncholu Manyala
Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials,
SARCHI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of
Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
This article is focused on polymer based gel electrolyte due to the fact that polymers are cheap and can be used to achieve extended potential window for improved energy density of the supercapacitor devices when compared to aqueous electrolytes. Electrochemical characterization of a symmetric supercapacitor devices based on activated carbon in different polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based gel electrolytes was carried out. The device exhibited a maximum energy density of 24 Wh kg−1 when carbon black was added to the gel electrolyte as conductive additive. The good energy density was correlated with the improved conductivity of the electrolyte medium which is favorable for fast ion transport in this relatively viscous environment. Most importantly, the device remained stable with no capacitance lost after 10,000 cycles.
