Effect of electrode thickness and porosity on the performance of double-layer supercapacitor

Electrochemical supercapacitors store energy in the electric field formed at the interface of electrode/electrolyte in the electrochemical double layer. Compared to conventional capacitors, using high surface area electrodes results in the extremely large capacitance in supercapacitors. A mathematical model has been developed to investigate the effect of electrode thickness and porosity on the performance of double-layer supercapacitor. The model is based on the conservation of specious and charge governing equations. This model drops the common simplifying assumptions of concentrations uniformity and capacitance independence of voltage in supercapacitors models. The model can predict the experimental data of cell voltage with high accuracy and is used to examine the effect of utilizing different electrode thicknesses and porosities on the performance. In the design and operation condition of supercapacitor considered here, specific capacitance increases as electrode thickness increases for electrode thicknesses from 70 to 90 micrometer and decreases as electrode thickness exceeds from 90 micrometer. Employing more porous electrodes enhances specific capacitance. The amount of increment is such that if the electrode porosity is doubled, specific capacitance increases by approximately 5%.