Printing Porous Carbon Aerogels for Low Temperature Supercapacitors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Supercapacitors face challenges maintaining fast charging at low temperatures.
• Conventional porous carbon electrodes suffer from poor ion and charge transport as temperature decreases.
• This performance degradation limits supercapacitor applications in cold environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel electrode material for supercapacitors that overcomes low-temperature performance limitations.
• To investigate the impact of 3D-printed multiscale porous structures on electrochemical performance at sub-zero temperatures.
• To enhance fast charging capability and capacitance retention in supercapacitors under extreme cold conditions.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a 3D-printed multiscale porous carbon aerogel (3D-MCA) using chemical methods and direct ink writing.
• Characterization of the 3D-MCA's porous structure and surface area (∼1750 m² g⁻¹).
• Electrochemical testing of symmetric supercapacitor devices at temperatures as low as -70 °C.

Main Results:

• The 3D-MCA symmetric device achieved a capacitance of 148.6 F g⁻¹ at 5 mV s⁻¹ at -70 °C.
• Remarkable capacitance retention of 71.4 F g⁻¹ was observed at a high scan rate of 200 mV s⁻¹ at -70 °C.
• The 3D-MCA exhibited 6.5 times higher capacitance at high scan rates compared to non-3D printed materials at low temperatures.

Conclusions:

• The 3D-printed multiscale porous carbon aerogel (3D-MCA) demonstrates superior low-temperature performance for supercapacitors.
• The open porous architecture is crucial for maintaining ion and charge transport at ultralow temperatures.
• This work offers a promising strategy for developing high-performance energy storage devices for extreme environments.