BASIC SUPERCAPACITIVE PROPERTIES OF GRAPHENE/CARBON NON-WOVEN FABRIC COMPOSITE

Abstract

Flexible and lightweight supercapacitors are optimal power supplies for portable electronic devices. One of their key components is the flexible current collector, which should meet several requirements: high conductivity to minimize internal resistance while remaining light and improved mass specific capacitance. Carbon non-woven fabric (CNW) is a promising flexible current collector due to its exceptional flexibility, mechanical stability, light weight, ease of fabrication and cost efficiency. In this work, graphene, as widely recognized supercapacitive material, was deposited on CNW and the charge storage properties of the resulting composite were investigated. The electrochemical properties of neat CNW and the CNW/graphene composite were investigated in a 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte in a standard three-electrode cell, using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). CV measurements were performed at sweep rates of 200, 100, 50, and 10 mV s⁻¹, while EIS was carried out at open circuit potential over a frequency range of 100 kHz to 10 mHz. The results obtained are characteristic of capacitive materials in which charge storage occurs through the electric double-layer capacitance mechanism. The enhanced capacitive response of the CNW/graphene composite, compared to neat CNW, is attributed to the high electrical conductivity and large specific surface area of graphene, which facilitate more efficient charge accumulation at the electrode/electrolyte interface. These findings demonstrate that CNW is a promising flexible current collector for graphene-based capacitive applications.