Bioactive Polymer as an Alternative Binder for Electrochemical Capacitors

Abstract

Binders are important components of electrodes of supercapacitors because of their ability to adhere active components and make the resultant slurry to adhere on current collectors. This work seeks to investigate the possibility of a bioactive polymer (chitosan) substituting the conventional fluoro-thermoplastic binders used in supercapacitors within the constraint of electrochemical characterizations. Chitosan based electrodes at 3% acetic acid concentration displayed the best electrochemical performance, also exceeding the limits of PVDf binder based electrodes. The supercapacitor devices fabricated based on chitosan binder displayed a capacitance of 113.56 F g -1 an energy density of 7.98 kWh g -1 in 6 M KOH and a capacitance of 88.42 F g -1 and an energy density of 18.04 kWh g -1 in 1 M Na 2 SO 4 aqueous electrolytes,.