Influence of structure and wettability of supercapacitor electrodes carbon materials on their electrochemical properties in water and organic solutions

Electrochemical properties of EDLC (double electric layer capacitors), which show how much energy can be accumulated in the device and the power that can be expended, depend on many factors, including the ones connected with the carbon material of electrodes. These are: a usable surface of the material, porosity distribution – mutual participation of micro- and mezoporosity as well as chemical preparation of the surface and the features resulting from these aspects such as the ability to agglomerate, the level of wettability by the electrolyte and conductivity of the solid phase. The purpose of the discussed research was to determine the influence of the aforementioned factors on electrochemical properties of EDLC. To achieve this goal, a series of carbon materials with various structures and changed surface properties was produced. The properties were modified by changing the production parameters of the electrode material using the method of carbon aerogels and applying the following additions: surfactants at the stage of the polymer precursor production and MWCNT (multi wall carbon nanotubes) at the stage of preparing the electrode for the examinations. The produced electrodes of EDLC were examined in the supercapacitor models using chosen water and organic electrolytes.