Fabrication of unibody multifunctional energy storage composites from recycled carbon fiber - an atmospheric activation process
Journal
Journal of Energy Storage
Journal Volume
72
Date Issued
2023-11-15
Author(s)
Abstract
Carbon fiber (CF) composites can have a severe environmental impact because they are difficult to recycle. In this study, we report an economical way to recycle carbon fiber and fabricate it into energy storage devices for higher reuse value. These devices based on recycled carbon fibers (RCFs) demonstrate performance similar to virgin CF-based ones (7.87 & 10.17 mF/g, respectively). We have developed and used an atmospheric sintering method to activate CFs for fabricating a unibody multifunctional energy storage composite (UBMESC). This approach, not bound by the conventional furnace-activation limitation, can activate any area of a material in the air with three-dimensional motion control. The best activation is achieved at 700 °C for 80 mins (C80), yielding the largest specific surface area of 68.39 m2/g and the largest specific capacitance of 7.47 F/g for a single carbon fiber. When a UBMESC is fabricated, epoxy resin slightly enters the polyvinylidene fluoride gel polymer electrolyte after encapsulation, which reduces the specific capacitance from 1.44 to 0.95 F/g. We have also tested the UBMESC synchronously with four-point bending and electrochemical measurements, and its electrochemical performance was superior when embedded in the tensile side.
Subjects
Carbon fiber | Energy storage | Multifunctionality | Resin transfer molding | Structural composite | Supercapacitor
Type
journal article