Electrochemical properties of Mn-doped activated carbon aerogel as electrode material for supercapacitor

Carbon aerogel (CA) was prepared by a sol-gel polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde, and it was activated with KOH to obtain activated carbon aerogel (ACA). Specific capacitance of carbon aerogel and activated carbon aerogel was measured by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge methods in 6 M KOH electrolyte. Activated carbon aerogel showed higher specific capacitance than carbon aerogel (136 F/g vs. 90 F/g). In order to combine excellent electrochemical performance of activated carbon aerogel with pseudocapacitive property of manganese oxide, 7 wt% manganese oxide was doped on activated carbon aerogel by an incipient wetness impregnation method. For comparison, 7 wt% manganese oxide was also doped on carbon aerogel by an incipient wetness impregnation method. It was revealed that 7 wt% Mn-doped activated carbon aerogel (Mn/ACA) showed higher specific capacitance than 7 wt% Mn-doped carbon aerogel (Mn/CA) (168 F/g vs. 98 F/g). The enhanced capacitance of 7 wt% Mn-doped activated carbon aerogel was attributed to the outstanding electric properties of activated carbon aerogel as well as the faradaic redox reactions of manganese oxide.

► Carbon aerogel (CA) was prepared by resorcinol-formaldehyde method.
► Activated carbon aerogel (ACA) was prepared using KOH.
► ACA showed higher capacitance than CA.
► Mn/ACA showed higher capacitance than Mn/CA.