High capacitance of coarse-grained carbide derived carbon electrodes

• High capacitance and power density of coarse-grained porous carbon supercapacitors.
• Lower synthesis and manufacturing costs.
• Greater mass loading for grid and automotive electrical energy storage.
• Superior performance than activated carbon in different electrolytes.
• Expanded operating voltage window.

We report exceptional electrochemical properties of supercapacitor electrodes composed of large, granular carbide-derived carbon (CDC) particles. Using a titanium carbide (TiC) precursor, we synthesized 70–250 μm sized particles with high surface area and a narrow pore size distribution. Electrochemical cycling of these coarse-grained powders defied conventional wisdom that a small particle size is strictly required for supercapacitor electrodes and allowed high charge storage densities, rapid transport, and good rate handling ability. The material showcased capacitance above 100 F g−1 at sweep rates as high as 250 mV s−1 in organic electrolyte. 250–1000 micron thick dense CDC films with up to 80 mg cm−2 loading showed superior areal capacitances. The material significantly outperformed its activated carbon counterpart in organic electrolytes and ionic liquids. Furthermore, large internal/external surface ratio of coarse-grained carbons allowed the resulting electrodes to maintain high electrochemical stability up to 3.1 V in ionic liquid electrolyte. In addition to presenting novel insights into the electrosorption process, these coarse-grained carbons offer a pathway to low-cost, high-performance implementation of supercapacitors in automotive and grid-storage applications.

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