A structural supercapacitor based on activated carbon fabric and a solid electrolyte

This paper presents investigations to create a structural supercapacitor with activated carbon fabric electrodes and a solid composite electrolyte, consisting of organic liquid electrolyte 1 M TEABF 4 in propylene carbonate and an epoxy matrix where different compositions were considered of 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1 w/w epoxy:liquid electrolyte. Vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding was used for the impregnation of the electrolyte mixture into the electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC) assembly. The best electrochemical performance was exhibited by the 1:2 w/w epoxy: liquid electrolyte ratio, with a cell equivalent-in-series resistance of 160 Ω cm 2 and a maximum electrode-specific capacitance of 101.6 mF g −1 while the flexural modulus and strength were 0.3 GPa and 29.1 MPa, respectively, indicating a solid EDLC device.