Improved specific capacitance of pitch-based activated carbon by KOH/KMnO4agent for supercapacitors

The pitch-based activated carbons were prepared with KOH/KMnO(4)as a multiple function activation agent to increase the specific capacitance of a supercapacitor electrode active material. And the porous structure and electrochemical properties of activated carbon were analyzed on varying amounts of KMnO4. KMnO(4)was decomposed into K2O, MnO, and O(2)at the activation temperature of KOH, and MnO was introduced to activated carbon. K2O/O(2)reacts with a surrounding pitch to generate micropores and forms a pathway that exposes MnO to the outside. It also affects to the specific surface area of activated carbon like KOH chemical activation. The enhanced specific surface area and introduced MnO in activated carbon led to a 28.9% increase in specific capacitance.