Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (MassURC)

Structural supercapacitors are an innovative idea to integrate electrical energy storage capabilities into the load-bearing and mechanical components of devices, thereby reducing weight while also incorporating additional properties such as increased strength or flexibility. Activated carbon fiber electrodes are an interesting area of research in this field as carbon fibers are already used as structural devices, while activated carbons have increased surface areas that can contribute to better energy storage properties. Our carbon fiber electrodes were activated using a saturated potassium hydroxide solution, while the effect of using different weight ratios of solution to carbon fiber (ranging from 1 to 3) and different activation temperatures (between 850 and 950 Celsius) were investigated. These samples were then tested in a sodium sulfate electrolyte solution using techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), cyclic charge discharge (CCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to determine electrochemical properties such as charge stored, capacitance, and specific capacitance. The results show that there is a correlation between the burn-off weight percentage of the activated carbon fibers and the capacitance properties of the final electrode sample. Having the activation parameters too low or too high caused under- or over-activation of the carbon fibers, leading to a degradation in electrical performance based on the surface area increase that is produced during the activation process. Finding the optimum activation parameters is essential for the use of activated carbon fibers as electrodes in structural supercapacitors, since this would ensure that the electrodes are operating at their peak electrical potential.

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