Design and Use of a Novel In Situ Simultaneous Thermal Analysis Cell for an Accurate “Real Time” Monitoring of the Heat and Weight Changes Occurring in Electrochemical Capacitors

Abstract

Herein, the design and use of a novel in situ simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) cell is reported the first time, which allows a precise monitoring of the variation of heat flow, mass loss, resistance, and capacitance occurring in electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) operating in conditions comparable to real applications. Utilizing this in situ STA cell, the impact of the operating voltage on the stability of EDLCs during float tests is investigated, and it is shown that the first hours of these tests are the most critical for the stability of the devices. The novel in situ STA cell proposed here can be utilized for the investigation of any kind of electrochemical system, and it can be considered a novel and powerful tool for the investigation of the heating and mass variations occurring in these systems.