Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of hydrous ruthenium oxides with PTFE and their supercapacitor performances

The effect of PTFE addition was investigated for the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of hydrous ruthenium oxide electrodes. Mechanical stability of electrode layers, together with deposition yield, was enhanced by using hydrous ruthenium oxide/PTFE dispersions. High supercapacitor performance was obtained for the electrodes prepared with 2% PTFE and 10% water. When PTFE content was higher, the rate capability became poor with low electronic conductivity; higher water content than 10% resulted in non-uniform depositions with poor cycleability and power capability. When electrodes were heat treated at 200 °C for 10 h, the specific energy was as high as 17.6 Wh/kg based on single electrode (at 200 W/kg); while utilizable energy was lower with heat treatment time of 1 and 50 h, due to the high resistance and gradual crystallization, respectively. With PTFE addition and heat treatment at 200 °C for 10 h, the specific capacitance was increased by 31% (460 → 599 F/g at ca. 0.6 mg/cm²) at 10 mV/s, and the deposition weight was increased up to 1.7 mg/cm² with initial capacitance of 350 F/g.