Abstract
This article demonstrates the development of activated carbon fiber electrodes produced from hardwood kraft lignin (HKL) to fabricate electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) with high energy and power densities using an ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte. A mixture solution of HKL, polyethylene glycol as a sacrificial polymer, and hexamethylenetetramine as a crosslinker in dimethylformamide/acetic acid (6/4) was electrospun, and the obtained fibers were easily thermostabilized, followed by carbonization and steam activation to yield activated carbon fibers (ACFs). The electrochemical performance of EDLCs assembled with the ACFs, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF4) as an IL electrolyte and a cellulosic separator was insufficient due to the low conductivity of the electrode. The conductivity of the electrode was improved successfully by spraying conductive carbon black (CB) onto the fibers mat during electrospinning. The CB containing electrodes with improved conductivity gave the resulting EDLCs a higher electrochemical performance, with an energy density of 91.5 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 76.2 kW kg−1.
Funding source: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Award Identifier / Grant number: JP19J22306
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Machinery Lab. of the Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University, for preparing a container for thermostabilization of electrospun lignin mat.
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Author contribution: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
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Research funding: This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP19J22306.
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Employment or leadership: None declared.
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Honorarium: None declared.
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Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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Supplementary Material
The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2019-0291).
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