This study investigates three carbide-derived carbon (CDC) materials (TiC, NbC, and Mo2C) characterized by uni-, bi-, and tri-modal pore sizes, respectively, for energy storage in both neat and acetonitrile-diluted 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. A distribution of micro- and mesopores was studied through low-temperature N2 and CO2 adsorption. To elucidate the relationships between porosity and the electrochemical properties of carbon materials, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were conducted using three-electrode test cells. The ultramicroporous TiC-derived carbon is characterized by a high packing density of 0.85 g cm-3, resulting in superior cathodic and anodic capacitances for both neat ionic liquid (IL) and a 1.9 M IL/acetonitrile electrolyte (93.6 and 75.8 F cm-3, respectively, in the dilute IL). However, the bi-modal pore-sized microporous NbC-derived carbon, with slightly lower cathodic and anodic capacitances (i.e., 85.0 and 73.7 F cm-3 in the dilute IL, respectively), has a lower pore resistance, making it more suitable for real-world applications. A symmetric two-electrode capacitor incorporating microporous CDC-NbC electrodes revealed an acceptable cycle life. After 10,000 cycles, the cell retained approximately 75% of its original capacitance, while the equivalent series resistance (ESR) only increased by 13%.
Keywords: carbide-derived carbon; electrical double-layer capacitor; ionic liquid electrolytes; nanoporous carbon; pore size distribution.