Nanoporous Carbide-Derived Carbons as Electrode Materials in Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitors

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Contributors

Abstract

Among the diverse established electrochemical energy storage systems, electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) stand out due to their high power densities and ultra-long cycle life. The key components of EDLCs are the carbonaceous electrodes where the charge accumulation takes place by the electrosorption of electrolyte ions. It is of crucial importance to use carbon materials with well-defined pore architecture and therefore many different approaches for their synthesis have been developed. Traditional high-surface area carbon materials such as activated carbons often exhibit wormlike or ink-bottle shaped pores hindering efficient ion adsorption and therefore do not lead to optimized performance. Carbon materials obtained from carbide precursors (denoted as carbide-derived carbons, CDCs) received considerable attention in EDLC systems due to their precisely controllable and well-defined pore structure. CDCs show great promise as electrode materials and are highly suitable model substances for the investigation of fundamental mechanisms of EDLC operation. This chapter addresses the most important aspects of CDC synthesis and their use as advanced electrode materials in EDLCs. Besides the fundamental mechanisms of carbide-to-carbon transformation and the various accessible morphologies of these materials, current attempts to tune pore structure of CDCs from the micropore level, over mesopores to macropores and even external or inter-particular porosity are presented and discussed. The chapter provides an overview about the use of CDC materials as EDLC electrodes, and the influences of different parameters such as the carbon material and the device design are critically evaluated. Recent investigations on the electrosorption mechanisms in EDLCs based on CDC electrodes, which lead to important insights into the fundamental principles of these systems, are also part of this chapter.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNanocarbons for Advanced Energy Storage
Publisher Wiley Interscience
Pages417-453
Number of pages37
Volume1
ISBN (electronic)9783527680054
ISBN (print)9783527336654
Publication statusPublished - 20 Mar 2015
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Carbide-derived carbons, Carbides, Electrochemical double-layer capacitors, Electrolytes, Electrosorption mechanism, Halogen treatment, Hierarchical materials, Pore size control, Templating