Electrochemical Characterization of a Hybrid Capacitor with Zn and Activated Carbon Electrodes

A hybrid capacitor (HC) with an aqueous electrolyte solution was assembled using a Zn negative electrode and an activated carbon (AC) positive electrode. The electrochemical properties of the HC were compared with an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) having two AC electrodes. The HC cell successfully functioned as an electrochemical capacitor, with a maximum operating voltage of 1.4 V, which was 1.5 times higher than that of the EDLC cell, and a specific capacitance of ca. 3.7 times higher than that of the EDLC cell. In addition, the HC cell displayed high-rate dischargeability comparable to that of the EDLC cell. Due to these advantages, the HC cell was found to be superior to the EDLC cell in terms of energy and power density. The HC could be a promising candidate for water-based electrochemical capacitors with high energy and power densities.

[1]  Yongyao Xia,et al.  Electrochemical profile of nano-particle CoAl double hydroxide/active carbon supercapacitor using KOH electrolyte solution , 2006 .

[2]  Pierre-Louis Taberna,et al.  TiO2 (B)/activated carbon non-aqueous hybrid system for energy storage , 2006 .

[3]  Tao Zheng,et al.  An Asymmetric Hybrid Nonaqueous Energy Storage Cell , 2001 .

[4]  Elton J. Cairns,et al.  The Secondary Alkaline Zinc Electrode , 1991 .

[5]  P. Simon,et al.  Activated Carbon/Conducting Polymer Hybrid Supercapacitors , 2003 .

[6]  H. Inoue,et al.  Hybrid capacitor with activated carbon electrode, Ni(OH)2 electrode and polymer hydrogel electrolyte , 2006 .

[7]  François Béguin,et al.  Optimisation of an asymmetric manganese oxide/activated carbon capacitor working at 2 V in aqueous medium , 2006 .

[8]  Seok-Hyun Lee,et al.  Use of KCl Aqueous Electrolyte for 2 V Manganese Oxide/Activated Carbon Hybrid Capacitor , 2002 .

[9]  Mathieu Toupin,et al.  A Hybrid Activated Carbon-Manganese Dioxide Capacitor using a Mild Aqueous Electrolyte , 2004 .

[10]  Hiroshi Inoue,et al.  Electrochemical characteristics of electric double layer capacitor using sulfonated polypropylene separator impregnated with polymer hydrogel electrolyte , 2004 .

[11]  O. Park,et al.  An Electrochemical Capacitor Based on a Ni ( OH ) 2/Activated Carbon Composite Electrode , 2002 .

[12]  R. Chahine,et al.  The Influence of the Range of Electroactivity and Capacitance of Conducting Polymers on the Performance of Carbon Conducting Polymer Hybrid Supercapacitor , 2003 .