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Preparation of activated carbon paper by a novel method and application as high-performance supercapacitors

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Abstract

In this paper, the commercial carbon papers were firstly treated by potassium dichromate lotion. Their surfaces became rougher and specific surface areas were enlarged. Accordingly, their surface hydrophilicity were enhanced due to the intake of hydrophilic groups such as hydroxyl (–OH), carbonyl (>C=O), and carboxyl (–COOH), and they act as strong polar sites to absorb water molecules. Supercapacitors were then constructed with the treated carbon paper as electrode and PVA-H3PO4 gel as electrolyte, and they provided high areal capacitances, high-rate capability, long-life cycle, and low resistance due to the synergistic effect of enlarged specific surface area and enhanced surface hydrophilicity.

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Acknowledgments

The work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51206029) and Foundation for the Excellent Young Teachers in Higher Education Institutions of Guangdong (Yongfu Qiu, 2014). Dr. Ruwei Wang would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41403076), Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (1408085QD74), and China Postdoctoral Foundation (2014T70594) for the support of his research. We thank Qiu Yan (1941308558@qq.com) for her linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center for Advanced Nanomaterials, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808, People’s Republic of China

    Yongfu Qiu, Haifeng Dang, Zhiyu Cheng, Xiuzhen Lin, Lishen Wang & Hongbo Fan

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle and the Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Ruwei Wang

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  1. Yongfu Qiu
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  2. Haifeng Dang
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  3. Zhiyu Cheng
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  4. Xiuzhen Lin
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  5. Lishen Wang
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  6. Hongbo Fan
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  7. Ruwei Wang
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Correspondence to Hongbo Fan.

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Qiu, Y., Dang, H., Cheng, Z. et al. Preparation of activated carbon paper by a novel method and application as high-performance supercapacitors. Ionics 22, 529–534 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-015-1569-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-015-1569-x

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