Mid Sweden University

Supercapacitor electrodes are often made of porous carbon materials such as activated carbon, but also graphene was frequently used as active electrode material. Graphene can be produced by mechanical exfoliation, chemical exfoliation, chemical vapor deposition or other elaborate methods. These techniques are relatively expensive and produce small quantities only. Recently we presented a method to produce nanographite and graphene by mechanical exfoliation of graphite in a high-pressure homogenizer. In our contribution “Large-scale production of graphene” by Nicklas Blomquist we suggest to optimize the geometry of the shear zone and increase the feeding pressure to obtain a higher yield.

In this study we evaluated the influence of these process optimizations on the structural and electrical properties of the nanographite-graphene mixture. The produced dispersions were characterized in terms of particle size and shape by using a particle size analyzer, a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). In order to analyze the performance of the produced material as electrodes for supercapacitors, electrodes were produced by vacuum filtration. The electrodes were studied by sheet-resistance and capacitance measurements. Furthermore, the structure of the electrode surface and the cross section of the electrode were visualized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Comparisons with previously produced nanographite-graphene dispersions showed an increase in yield of the exfoliated nanomaterials. The optimized shear zone increased the production of nanosized particles and flakes and enhanced the material quality.