Combining Nanostructured Carbon Electrodes and Ionic Liquid Electrolytes to Develop New Electrochemical Capacitors

摘要

Performance of electrochemical capacitors is largely determined by the properties of the electrodes and the electrolytes employed. In this work, we utilized carbon nanotubes to develop a range of nanostructured carbon electrodes and combined them with ionic liquid electrolytes to fabricate new electrochemical capacitors. Difference in the cost, preparation, and performance of these electrode materials allows us to achieve the optimal performance/cost value for the capacitors and to select a specific type of nanoelectrodes to fabricate capacitors for a particular application. Combing the highly conductive and electrolyte-accessible structures of these nanoelectrodes with the large electrochemical window of the ionic liquid electrolytes, the resultant capacitors have achieved superior performances over the current state-of-the-art electrochemical capacitor technology. Excellent safety-related properties of the ionic liquid electrolytes ensure superior safety and lifetimes for these new capacitors.