Supercapacitor Based On Carbon Nanotubes

Supercapacitors are comparatively new capacitors. The upper limit capacitance has been raised by three or four orders and can reach up to Faraday scale due to the appearance of supercapacitors. They have drawn more and more attentions because of their increasing application in the areas of mobile communication, information technology, space aircrafts and national defence. Many countries have made the research plan of supercapacitors as an important research object. The research work of supercapacitor mainly focuses on the electrode material.The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are attractive materials for electrodes of supercapacitors due to their superb characteristics: chemical stability, low mass density, low resistivity, and large specific surface area. A composite electrode material comprising carbon nanotube and transition metal oxide may meet both the powerand the energy requirements.The properties of supercapacitor utilizing carbon nanotube as electrode material are studied. When 38wt% H2SO4 is used as the electrolyte, a specific capacitance of 1l0F/g is obtained. The complex influence factors including binder and electrolyte are discussed in the paper. The comparison of carbon nanotube and active carbon and graphite nanofibers used as electrode material is also presented.A composite electrode material comprising carbon nanotubes and ruthenium oxide is obtained and the capacitance of supercapacitor reaches 270F/g. The carbon nanotube and the natural manganese oxide compounded for the first time and the initial results were achieved. It showed a new way for the utilization of natural mineral.