A new route for preparation of titanium carbide derived carbon and its performance for supercapacitors

A nanoporous titanium carbide derived carbon (TiC-CDC) is successfully synthesized by electrolysis of TiC powder in molten CaCl2. The electrolysis was conducted at 850 °C for 48 h in argon at an applied constant voltage of 3.1 V. The structure of the resulting carbon is characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Transmission electron microscope techniques. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements are applied to investigate electrochemical performances of the TiC-CDC material. The results show that the obtained product is TiC-CDC, which is a mixture of amorphous carbon and ordered graphite phase with a highly degree of graphitization. Cyclic voltammetry measurements on the TiC-CDC do not show any major faradic reactions within the experimental voltage range. A specific capacitance of 160 F/g at a current density of 300 mA/g was achieved from the sample synthesized at 850 °C.