Current-induced strength degradation of activated carbon spheres in carbon supercapacitors

Activated carbon microspheres (ACSs), which are prepared using hydrothermal synthesis and ammonia activation, are used as the active materials in the anode and cathode of electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs). The ACS-based EDLCs of symmetrical electrodes exhibit good stability and a high degree of reversibility over 2000 charge-discharge cycles for electric current up to 10 A g⁻¹. The ACSs maintain a nongraphitized carbon structure after over 2000 charge-discharge cycles. Nanoindentation experiments are performed on the ACSs, which are electrochemically cycled in a voltage window of 0–1 V at three electric currents of 0.5, 5, and 10 A g⁻¹. For the same indentation load, both the contact modulus and indentation hardness of the ACSs decrease with the increase of the electric current used in the electrical charging and discharging. These results suggest that there exists strength degradation introduced by the electric current. A larger electric current will cause more strength degradation than a smaller electric current. (paper)