Effects of adding ethanol to KOH electrolyte on electrochemical performance of titanium carbide-derived carbon

• Wettability and contact angle of carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) are investigated.
• Hydrophilicity and specific capacitance of CDC depend on its microstructure.
• Well-ordered graphite ribbons have lower hydrophilicity and capacitance.
• A strategy that improving the surface wettability and capacitive behavior of CDC.

Porous carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) are synthesized from TiC at different chlorination temperatures as electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors. It is found that the microstructure of the produced CDCs has significant influence on both the hydrophilicity in aqueous KOH electrolyte and the resultant electrochemical performance. Because the TiC-CDC synthesized at higher temperature (e.g. 1000 °C) contains well-ordered graphite ribbons, it shows lower hydrophilicity and specific capacitance. It is also found that addition of a small amount of ethanol to KOH electrolyte effectively improves the wettability of the CDCs synthesized at higher temperature and the corresponding specific capacitance. Compared with the CDC synthesized at 600 °C, the CDC synthesized at 1000 °C shows fast ion transport and excellent capacitive behavior in KOH electrolyte with addition of ethanol because of the existences of mesopores and high specific surface area.