Polyvinylpyrrolidone/polyvinyl butyral composite as a stable binder for castable supercapacitor electrodes in aqueous electrolytes

Mixtures of polyvinylpyrrolidone/polyvinyl butyral (PVP/PVB) are attractive binders for the preparation of carbon electrodes for aqueous electrolyte supercapacitors. The use of PVP/PVB offers several key advantages: They are soluble in ethanol and can be used to spray coat or drain cast activated carbon (AC) electrodes directly on a current collector. Infrared spectroscopy and contact angle measurements show that the PVP-to-PVB ratio determines the degree of binder hydrophilicity. Within our study, the most favorable performance was obtained for AC electrodes with a composition of AC + 1.5 mass% PVP + 6.0 mass% PVB; such electrodes were mechanically stabile and water resistant with a PVP release of less than 5% of total PVP while PVB itself is water insoluble. Compared to when using PVDF, the specific surface area (SSA) of the assembled electrodes was 10% higher, indicating a reduced pore blocking tendency. A good electrochemical performance was observed in different aqueous electrolytes for composite electrodes with the optimized binder composition: 160 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) for 1 M H2SO4 and 6 M KOH and 120 F g(-1) for 1 M NaCl. The capacitance was slightly reduced by 2.5% after cycling to 1.2 V with 1.28 A g(-1) in 1 M NaCl for 10,000 times. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.