An activated carbon monolith as an electrode material for supercapacitors

Activated carbon binderless monoliths with high consistency and large porosity, synthesised from a mesophase pitch, are studied as electrodes for supercapacitors. The electrochemical cells prepared provided high capacitance values in sulphuric acid media (334 F g−1) and very low electrical resistivity, which results in a very efficient energy storage device (12 Wh Kg−1 maximum energy density and 12,000 W Kg−1 maximum power density). Long-term cycling experiments showed excellent stability with a reduction of the initial capacitance values of 19% after performing 23,000 galvanostatic cycles at ∼300 mA g−1.