Nomex-derived activated carbon fibers as electrode materials in carbon based supercapacitors

摘要

Electrochemical characterization has been carried out for electrodes prepared of several activated carbon fiber samples derived from poly (m-phenylene isophthalamide) (Nomex) in an aqueous solution. Depending on the burn-off due to activation the BET surface area of the carbons was in the order of 1300-2800 m~2 g~(-1), providing an extensive network of micropores. Their capability as active material for supercapacitors was evaluated by using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. Values for the capacitance of 175 F g~(-1) in sulfuric acid were obtained. Further on, it was observed that the specific capacitance and the performance of the electrode increase significantly with increasing burn-off degree. We believe that this fact can be attributed to the increase of surface area and porosity with increasing burn-off.