1130
Structural and Electrochemical Characterization of Activated Carbon for Supercapacitors

Tuesday, 30 May 2017: 16:40
Prince of Wales (Hilton New Orleans Riverside)
K. Ö. Köse and M. K. Aydinol (Middle East Technical University)
Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC) are energy storage devices that utilize ion adsorption at the double layer. Their typical electrodes are porous, conductive materials, such as activated carbon. In the present study, activated carbon is derived from pine cone (pinus pinea). The activation process is carried out with the aid of ZnCl2 activating agent. High temperature vacuum treatment is conducted to increase the conductivity of activated carbon. The effects of impregnation ratio (mass of activating agents/mass of precursor), on the resulting porosity, pore size distribution and texture of the activated carbon are examined. Surface area and pore volume are measured by N2 adsorption at 77 K. Raman spectroscopy is used for characterizing the order of the resulting carbon. To achieve high energy density, organic electrolyte (acetonitrile) is used with TEABF4 dissolved in it. Galvanostatic charge-discharge, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are applied to assess electrochemical behavior. The effect of porous structure and conductivity on the energy and power characteristics of the EDLC is determined and by manipulating the activation process of AC, the properties of EDLC are optimized.