Optimization of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as A Potential and Suitable Binder for Electrochemical Supercapacitor

Abstract

Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is suitable alternative to the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) often used binder in electrode of supercapacitor. The major problem of the PVP is the part it plays in the conductivity of ions in the electrode. As the amount of PVP in the electrode increase above certain critical point the conductivity decrease. In this project, various weight percent of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is dissolved different volume of ethanol and mixed with activated carbon to produce the electrode for electrochemical capacitors which shows a maximum specific capacitance of 94.49, 72.30 and 69.37 fg −1 respectively. The optimised mass of 0.2 g PVP exhibited good electrochemical performance. With the amount of ethanol and activated carbon constant, increasing the amount of PVP decrease the specific capacitance of the device made of the electrode and 6 M KOH electrolyte.