All-solid-state supercapacitors with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-coated carbon fiber paper electrodes and ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte

All-solid-state thin supercapacitors have been fabricated using current pulse polymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) over carbon fiber paper and ionic liquid based gel polymer electrolyte. The PEDOT-coated carbon paper electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which confirm the porous morphology of PEDOT at the nanoscale and a high degree of ClO4- dopant ion conjugation. The performance characteristics of the supercapacitor cells have been evaluated by ac impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques. The PEDOT electrode shows specific capacitance of similar to 154.5 F g(-1), which correspond to the cell area-normalized capacitance of 85 mF cm(-2). The maximum specific energy and specific power of the solid-state supercapacitor cell, calculated from charge-discharge characteristics, are 6.5 Wh kg(-1) and 11.3 kW kg(-1), respectively. The solid-state supercapacitor shows good cycle durability and time stability. The thin, lightweight, gel electrolyte based supercapacitor shows considerable potential for low-cost, high-performance energy storage applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.