Fabrication and capacitive performance of cement-based electrode for structural supercapacitor

As traditional energy sources continue to deplete, the development of electrodes aimed at improving energy storage has become a promising approach to mitigate the energy crisis. Additionally, the cement-based electrode possesses advantages such as low cost and easy fabrication, which contribute to its promising potential for applications in batteries, capacitors, and especially supercapacitors. However, cement-based electrode also has the disadvantages of large resistance and unclear fitting circuit, which limit its practical use. Two types of cement-based carbon-doped electrodes were prepared by blending conductive activated carbon with ordinary cement. In one approach, gold was deposited onto the electrode surface, while in another, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was used to adhere the electrode to aluminum foil. The electrode treated with PTFE-coated aluminum foil shows a lower specific capacitance of 0.045 F/cm² at 10 mA/cm² and a higher resistance (15.7 Ω·cm²). However, it is surprising that the surface gold-sprayed electrode displays superior electrochemical performance, exhibiting a specific capacitance of 0.058 F/cm² at 10 mA/cm² and a low resistance (6.4 Ω·cm²). More importantly, at the higher current density of 50 mA cm ^− 2 , 95% of the capacitance is retained. This result provides an ideal host for the practical application of cement-based carbon-doped electrodes.