1.8 V Aqueous Symmetric Carbon-Based Supercapacitors with Agarose-Bound Activated Carbons in an Acidic Electrolyte

The specific energy of an aqueous carbon supercapacitor is generally small, resulting mainly from a narrow potential window of aqueous electrolytes. Here, we introduced agarose, an ecologically compatible polymer, as a novel binder to fabricate an activated carbon supercapacitor, enabling a wider potential window attributed to a high overpotential of the hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER) of agarose-bound activated carbons in sulfuric acid. Assembled symmetric aqueous cells can be galvanostatically cycled up to 1.8 V, attaining an enhanced energy density of 13.5 W h/kg (9.5 mu W h/cm(2)) at 450 W/kg (315 mu W/cm(2)). Furthermore, a great cycling behavior was obtained, with a 94.2% retention of capacitance after 10,000 cycles at 2 A/g. This work might guide the design of an alternative material for high-energy aqueous supercapacitors.

Automated summary

By utilizing agarose as a novel binder, an activated carbon supercapacitor with a wider potential window was successfully fabricated, leading to enhanced energy density and excellent cycling performance.