(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-04-10)
Cromer, Cynthia Eckles
Supercapacitors are important electrochemical energy storage devices for microelectronic and telecommunication systems, electric cars, and smart grids. However, the energy densities of existing supercapacitors are still inadequate for many applications. Vanadium oxides have been studied as viable supercapacitor alternatives, with varying results. Methods are often complicated or time-consuming, and electrode fabrication often includes carbon powder and binder. The objective of this work was to study the effect of processing conditions on specific capacitance of supercapacitors based on vanadium oxides coated on carbon fiber papers.
This study was conducted to form easily-fabricated compounds of vanadium oxides which could offer promise as pseudocapacitor material, and to nucleate these compounds directly onto inexpensive carbon fiber without binder. The incipient wetness impregnation technique was used to fabricate the electrodes. Electrochemical performance of the resulting electrodes was tested in a Swagelok-type electrochemical two-electrode cell, and the electrodes were characterized by XRD and SEM. Interesting nanofeatures were formed and the vanadium oxides exhibited pseudocapacitance at a respectable level.