Carbon nanofiber supercapacitors with large areal capacitances

James R. McDonough, Jang Wook Choi, Yuan Yang, Fabio La Mantia, Yuegang Zhang, Yi Cui

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

121 Scopus citations

Abstract

We develop supercapacitor (SC) devices with large per-area capacitances by utilizing three-dimensional (3D) porous substrates. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) functioning as active SC electrodes are grown on 3D nickel foam. The 3D porous substrates facilitate a mass loading of active electrodes and per-area capacitance as large as 60 mg/ cm2 and 1.2 F/ cm2, respectively. We optimize SC performance by developing an annealing-free CNF growth process that minimizes undesirable nickel carbide formation. Superior per-area capacitances described here suggest that 3D porous substrates are useful in various energy storage devices in which per-area performance is critical. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)243109
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume95
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 15 2009
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Carbon nanofiber supercapacitors with large areal capacitances'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this