On the development of activated carbons with high affinity for high voltage propylene carbonate based electrolytes

In this work we report about the morphological and structural characteristic of an activated carbon (P4) tailored for use in high voltage PC-based electrolytes. In these types of electrolytes P4 displays specific capacitance of about 120 F g−1 and volumetric capacitance of 61.6 F cm−3, which are very promising values in view of the realization of high energy EDLCs. We show that using P4 in combination with the electrolyte 1.5 M PYR14BF4 in PC it is possible to realize EDLCs able to deliver, at 1 A g−1, specific energy and power of 34.5 Wh kg−1 and 1.7 kW kg−1, respectively. These values are among the highest so far reported for this type of EDLCs. Furthermore, it also displays capacitance retention higher than 85% after 50.000 cycles. Taking into account these results, P4 appears therefore a suitable candidate for the realization of high energy EDLCs.