Evaluating the Electrochemical Properties of Supercapacitors using the Three-Electrode System

The three-electrode system is a basic and general analytical platform for investigating the electrochemical performance and characteristics of energy storage systems at the material level. Supercapacitors are one of the most important emergent energy storage systems developed in the past decade. Here, the electrochemical performance of a supercapacitor was evaluated using a three-electrode system with a potentiostat device. The three-electrode system consisted of a working electrode (WE), reference electrode (RE), and counter electrode (CE). The WE is the electrode where the potential is controlled and the current is measured, and it is the target of research. The RE acts as a reference for measuring and controlling the potential of the system, and the CE is used to complete the closed circuit to enable electrochemical measurements. This system provides accurate analytical results for evaluating electrochemical parameters such as the specific capacitance, stability, and impedance through cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Several experimental design protocols are proposed by controlling the parameter values of the sequence when using a three-electrode system with a potentiostat device to evaluate the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. Through these protocols, the researcher can set up a three-electrode system to obtain reasonable electrochemical results for assessing the performance of supercapacitors.