Electrochemical properties of activated carbon supercapacitors adopting hydrophilic silica and hydrogel electrolytes

Abstract

A hydrogel electrolyte consisting of 6 M KOH aqueous solution, potassium polyacrylate (PAAK, 3 wt.%), and a hydrophilic silica OX50 (1 wt.%) was prepared to use as an electrolyte medium coated on a Scimat separator of activated carbon supercapacitor. The silica particle distributed homogeneously on surface pores of the separator to increase ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability of the hydrogel electrolyte. The silica addition also involved superior specific capacitance even at higher scan rates due to decrease in interfacial resistance between hydrogel electrolyte and activated carbon electrode.