The Journal of
the Korean Journal of Metals and Materials

The Journal of
the Korean Journal of Metals and Materials

Monthly
  • pISSN : 1738-8228
  • eISSN : 2288-8241

Editorial Office

Title Exploring Binder and Solvent for Depositing Activated Carbon Electrode on Indium-Tin-Oxide Substrate to Prepare Supercapacitors
Authors 최영묵(Young Mook Choi); 전상은(Sang-eun Chun)
DOI https://doi.org/10.3365/KJMM.2021.59.12.911
Page pp.911-920
ISSN 1738-8228(ISSN), 2288-8241(eISSN)
Keywords ethyl cellulose; terpineol; indium-tin-oxide; specific capacitance; charge transfer resistance; adhesion
Abstract Supercapacitor electrode slurry is prepared for mass production by mixing activated carbon powder, conductive agent, and binder, which is then deposited on a substrate using the doctor-blade method. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) are used as binder and solvent, respectively, to form the electrode slurry on a metal substrate. In this study, ethyl cellulose (EC) is evaluated as a binder to prepare an electrode on an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) substrate obtaining transparent supercapacitors. Terpineol and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) are compared as suitable solvents for the EC binder. When terpineol is employed as a solvent, the conductive agent is uniformly deposited around the activated carbon powder. An electrode prepared using EC and terpineol exhibits slightly lower specific capacitance and rate performance than that using conventional PVDF and NMP. However, the electrode prepared using EC and terpineol securely adheres to the electrode components, resulting in a robust electrode. In contrast, an electrode prepared using EC and IPA exhibits high charge transfer resistance at the interface of the electrode/electrolyte, leading to a low specific capacitance and rate performance. Thus, ecofriendly EC and terpineol can substitute the conventional PVDF and NMP for depositing activated carbon powder on an ITO substrate, while improving the specific capacitance of manufactured electrodes.(Received September 1 2021; Accepted September 17, 2021)