JP2009231336A - Electric double-layer capacitor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric double-layer capacitor, wherein the dispersion in coating quantity for a paste electrode as a polarizable electrode is suppressed and the dispersion of electrostatic capacity is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: In the unit cell 1 of an electric double-layer capacitor, a pair of a paste-like polarizable electrode 3 (paste electrode 3) containing sulphuric solution, active carbon powder and graphite powder and a collector 2 is arranged opposite to each other, with a separator 4 therebetween, and the weight ratio Wc/Wac of active carbon powder (Wac) to graphite powder (Wc) in the paste electrode 3 is set to 0.005-0.10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric double layer capacitor that is suitably used as a backup power source for an IC memory, a small actuator, and the like, and particularly relates to a capacitance characteristic.

  An electric double layer capacitor is a device that stores electricity by using an electric double layer generated at the interface between a solid and a liquid, and its power storage mechanism is based on the exchange of physical charges. Therefore, it has features such as rapid charge / discharge and semi-permanent lifetime, and is mainly used as a backup power source for IC memories, small actuators and the like. Recently, it is also expected to be used for auxiliary power sources and energy regeneration in hybrid vehicles.

  The electric double layer capacitor can be largely classified into two types of an aqueous electrolyte and a non-aqueous (organic) electrolyte depending on the electrolyte used.

  In addition, although the details of the material and the like vary depending on the electrolyte, the unit cell structure of the electric double layer capacitor element is the same as the plate type unit cell used in the following coin type electric double layer capacitor, etc. There is a unit cell of a double layer capacitor. FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of a unit cell of an electric double layer capacitor according to the present invention and a conventional example. In the case of a typical coin-type electric double layer capacitor of a small electric double layer capacitor, as shown in FIG. 1, between a pair of current collectors 2 having a polarizable electrode 3 mainly composed of activated carbon formed on the surface. A plate-like unit cell 1 of an electric double layer capacitor element is configured by placing a gasket 5 around a separator 4 made of polypropylene nonwoven fabric or the like. The required number of unit cells 1 are stacked, and an electric double layer capacitor element impregnated with an electrolyte solution is accommodated in a metal container, and sealed in a metal container with a cap and an external sealing gasket to form a coin-type electric double layer capacitor Etc. are manufactured.

  In addition, a sheet-shaped polarizable electrode, a current collector, and a separator are laminated as a relatively large and large-capacity electric double layer capacitor element as compared with the electric double layer capacitor element described above, and the laminate is spirally formed. A unit cell of a wound type electric double layer capacitor element is formed by winding and impregnating with an electrolytic solution. A large-capacity electric double layer capacitor is manufactured by impregnating an electrolytic solution in an electric double layer capacitor element composed of this wound type unit cell and storing it in a metal container, and sealing the opening of the container with a cap.

  Next, a case where an aqueous electrolyte is used in the plate-shaped unit cell 1 of an electric double layer capacitor element used for a coin-type electric double layer capacitor or the like will be described. In the case of an electric double layer capacitor using an aqueous electrolyte, a pair of polarizable electrodes 3 separated by an ion permeable non-electron conductive porous separator 4 is arranged in the electric double layer capacitor element. The current collector 2 made of conductive rubber or the like is disposed outside the polarizable electrode 3, and the gasket 5 made of non-conductive rubber or the like is disposed on the outer periphery of the polarizable electrode 3. Structure.

  This polarizable electrode 3 is made of a non-conductive butyl rubber hollow circular gasket 5 which is obtained by mixing kneaded activated carbon, a sulfuric acid aqueous solution and a binder into a paste-like paste body. And a disk-shaped current collector 2 made of conductive butyl rubber are applied to a space portion (concave portion) inside a bottomed cylindrical shape using a squeegee.

  For example, as in Patent Document 1, the filling density of the paste electrode 3 is increased by adding an organic binder such as polyvinylidene fluoride, but the internal resistance of the electric double layer capacitor is increased by adding the organic binder. , And rapid charging and large current discharge are becoming difficult. Therefore, Patent Document 2 describes that the internal resistance is reduced by improving the binder, but there is no description of the paste electrode 3 that does not use the binder.

  Further, for example, in Patent Document 3, the improvement of the capacitance of the electric double layer capacitor is examined for an electrode obtained by kneading activated carbon and an electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid solution, but only the change in sulfuric acid concentration of the sulfuric acid solution is examined. Stays on.

JP 2002-231585 A JP 2007-157976 A JP 2004-158639 A

  As described in Patent Document 1, the addition of an organic binder increases the internal resistance of the electric double layer capacitor, making rapid charging and large current discharge difficult. Therefore, it is also advantageous for paste electrodes that do not contain an organic binder. There is a point. However, paste electrodes made of activated carbon and sulfuric acid aqueous solution that do not contain a binder have poor lubricity, and uncoated parts are likely to occur at the edges of the recesses formed by bonding the gasket and current collector during coating. . As a countermeasure, although the number of reciprocations to be applied using a squeegee is increased, the paste electrode has a large variation in the coating amount of the paste body in the recess, and as a result, the unit cell There has been a problem that the variation in the capacitance is large. In particular, in a small electric double layer capacitor, the above-mentioned problem appears remarkably because the concave portion formed by bonding the gasket and the current collector becomes smaller.

  In addition, in an electric double layer capacitor configured by stacking a plurality of unit cells and connecting them in series, the variation in the capacitance of the unit cell affects the variation in the capacitance as an electric double layer capacitor. Will affect.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is intended to provide an electric double layer capacitor that reduces variations in the amount of paste applied to a unit cell and reduces variations in capacitance. It is aimed.

  The present invention is an electric double layer capacitor having an electric double layer capacitor element in which a pair of polarizable electrodes containing an aqueous sulfuric acid solution and a pair of current collectors are arranged to face each other via a separator, the polarizable electrode comprising: An electric double layer capacitor characterized in that it is composed of a mixture containing at least an aqueous sulfuric acid solution, activated carbon powder, and graphite powder without containing an organic binder.

  Further, the present invention is the electric double layer capacitor, wherein a weight ratio Wc / Wac between the activated carbon powder Wac and the graphite powder Wc constituting the polarizable electrode is 0.005 to 0.10.

  According to the present invention, by including activated carbon powder and graphite powder in a paste electrode using an aqueous electrolyte, the lubricity of the paste body is improved by the presence of water molecules in the graphite powder and the electrolyte during coating. In addition, it becomes easy to fill the recess formed by bonding the gasket and the current collector with the paste body, and the variation in the amount of electrode coating can be suppressed. This also makes it possible to reduce the variation in the capacitance of the unit cells.

  FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a unit cell of an electric double layer capacitor according to the present invention and a conventional example. As shown in FIG. 1, the unit cell 1 of the electric double layer capacitor of the present invention includes a current collector 2, a polarizable electrode 3, a separator 4, and a gasket 5. The current collector 2 disposed outside the polarizable electrode 3 (paste electrode 3) and the polarizable electrode 3 is divided into a positive electrode side and a negative electrode side and insulated by a separator 4. Here, the separator 4 is made of a porous insulating sheet such as a nonwoven fabric of polypropylene, for example, so that the ions contained in the aqueous electrolyte can be moved and charged and discharged.

  Specifically, for example, a hollow circular gasket 5 and a disk-shaped current collector 2 are bonded together to form a bottomed cylinder (concave), and in the concave portion, a paste-form containing sulfuric acid aqueous solution, activated carbon, and graphite powder. The paste body is applied to form a paste electrode 3, and one side of the unit cell 1 electrode is formed. Similarly, one side of the other electrode is formed, and each is placed opposite to each other with the separator 4 interposed therebetween, whereby the paste electrode 3 using the aqueous electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid aqueous solution is sealed. Note that the shapes of the gasket 5 and the current collector 2 are not circular, but may be square, elliptical, or the like.

  The gasket 5 may be made of rubber such as non-conductive butyl rubber, and the current collector 2 may be made of rubber such as conductive butyl rubber. For the polarizable electrode 3, a paste electrode 3 using an aqueous electrolyte solution of sulfuric acid aqueous solution is used.

  In this embodiment, a paste electrode 3 composed of an aqueous sulfuric acid solution, activated carbon, and graphite powder is used. As the activated carbon, phenol resin-based activated carbon having an average particle diameter of 4 to 14 μm is suitably used, and coconut shell activated carbon or the like may be used. As the graphite powder, natural graphite having an average particle size of 0.05 to 8 μm, natural scaly graphite having an average particle size of 0.05 to 10 μm, and artificial graphite having an average particle size of 0.1 to 7 μm are preferably used. In addition, carbon black or ketjen black may be used.

  When graphite powder is added to the paste electrode 3, the lubricity of the paste body can be improved. This is because of the following. Generally, graphite is known as a material excellent in lubricity. This is derived from the crystal structure of graphite. Graphite is a hexagonal hexagonal plate-like crystal with a turtle shell-like layered substance, and the inner surface of each layer of this crystal is a strong covalent bond. Are united by weak van der Waals forces. Between the layer joined by this weak van der Waals force and the adjacent layer, these layers slide to exhibit lubricity. In addition, since there is a broken bond atom at the crystal edge and it has free bond strength, high lubricity cannot be maintained unless this free bond force is saturated, but water molecules in the aqueous electrolyte Is adsorbed at the bonding end, so that the free bonding force is saturated and has lubricity.

  Accordingly, since water molecules exist in the aqueous electrolyte during coating, the electrode paste body can be easily filled up to the edge of the recess formed by bonding the gasket 5 and the current collector 2 together. Variations in work can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the variation in the capacitance of the unit cell 1.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, it is preferable that the particle size of the graphite particle used for the paste electrode 3 is the range of 0.5-10 micrometers. This is because when the particle size of the graphite particles is larger than 10 μm, the coating surface becomes rough during coating of the paste body, and the coating variation increases, thereby reducing the capacitance. Moreover, when the particle size of the graphite particles is smaller than 0.5 μm, it is usually difficult to obtain industrially, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of handling.

  The weight ratio Wc / Wac between the activated carbon powder (Wac) and the graphite powder (Wc) in the paste electrode 3 is preferably 0.005 to 0.10, and particularly the weight ratio Wc / Wac is 0.03 to 0.00. It is more desirable to be 08. That is, when the weight ratio Wc / Wac is 0.005 or less, good lubricity cannot be obtained due to the small amount of graphite added, and the electrode coating variation is large. At the same time, the capacitance variation is also large. It becomes large and is not preferable. On the other hand, when the weight ratio Wc / Wac is 0.10 or more, the mixing ratio of the graphite powder that does not contribute to increase the capacitance due to the small specific surface area increases, and conversely, the specific surface area increases. In order to increase the electrostatic capacity, the mixing ratio of the activated carbon powder that contributes decreases, and as a result, the electrostatic capacity decreases, which is not preferable.

Example 1
First, as shown in FIG. 1, on the lower surface of a non-conductive butyl rubber gasket 5 made of a ring-shaped sheet punched and molded to an inner diameter of 4.5 mm and an outer diameter of 6.0 mm, a diameter of 6.0 mm A conductive butyl rubber current collector 2 having a thickness of 0.18 mm made of a punched disk-shaped sheet was arranged on a concentric circle and bonded to form a concave body having a concave portion.

  Next, a weight ratio Wc / Wac = 0.002, 0.005, 0.01, 0.00 is obtained by adding phenol resin-based activated carbon (Wac) having an average particle diameter of 5 μm and natural graphite powder (Wc) having an average particle diameter of 1 μm. Mixed at 05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.4. Furthermore, 40% dilute sulfuric acid aqueous solution was added to this mixture and kneaded well to obtain a paste-like paste body. A paste electrode 3 was produced by coating this paste body to be a polarizable electrode on the concave body using a squeegee. This coating was repeated 12 times, and the weight change before and after coating and the variation thereof were examined.

  Furthermore, a pair of concave bodies coated with the paste body was prepared, and they were overlapped via a separator having a thickness of 25 μm and a diameter of 5.0 mm. Pressure was applied from above and below, and the butyl rubber was thermocompression bonded while maintaining this pressure, and vulcanization of the butyl rubber of the gasket 5 made of non-conductive butyl rubber was promoted for sealing, and 100 unit cells 1 were produced. . The electrostatic capacity and the variation thereof were measured for 100 electric double layer capacitors of the obtained unit cell 1.

(Example 2)
For Example 2, the paste was weighted with phenol resin activated carbon (Wac) having an average particle diameter of 5 μm and natural scaly graphite powder (Wc) having an average particle diameter of 0.1, 1.0, 5.0 μm. It was prepared by mixing at a ratio Wc / Wac = 0.5. Hereinafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, the change in the weight of the sheet before and after coating and its variation were examined, 100 unit cells 1 were produced, and the 100 electric double layer capacitors of the obtained unit cell 1 were electrically double layered. The capacitance of the capacitor and its variation were measured.

(Example 3)
Next, for Example 3, the paste body was made of phenol resin activated carbon (Wac) having an average particle diameter of 5 μm and artificial graphite powder (Wc) having an average particle diameter of 0.1, 1.0, 5.0 μm. Were mixed at a weight ratio of Wc / Wac = 0.5. Hereinafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, the change in the weight of the sheet before and after coating and its variation were examined, 100 unit cells 1 were produced, and the 100 electric double layer capacitors of the obtained unit cell 1 were electrically double layered. The capacitance of the capacitor and its variation were measured.

(Comparative Example 1)
Next, for Comparative Example 1, a phenol resin activated carbon (Wac) having an average particle size of 5 μm was used as the activated carbon, and a paste was prepared without adding graphite powder. Other than that, like Example 1, the change in the weight of the sheet before and after coating and its variation were examined, 100 unit cells 1 were produced, and the 100 electric double layer capacitors of the obtained unit cell 1 were The capacitance of the multilayer capacitor and its variation were measured.

Example 4
Next, for Example 4, the paste body was made of coconut shell activated carbon (Wac) having an average particle diameter of 5 μm, natural graphite powder, natural scaly graphite powder, and artificial graphite powder (Wc) having an average particle diameter of 1.0 μm. It was prepared by mixing at a weight ratio Wc / Wac = 0.5. Hereinafter, in the same manner as in Example 1, the change in the weight of the sheet before and after coating and its variation were examined, 100 unit cells 1 were produced, and the 100 electric double layer capacitors of the obtained unit cell 1 were electrically double layered. The capacitance of the capacitor and its variation were measured.

(Comparative Example 2)
Next, for Comparative Example 1, a coconut shell activated carbon (Wac) having an average particle diameter of 5 μm was used as the activated carbon, and a paste was prepared without adding graphite powder. Other than that, like Example 1, the change in the weight of the sheet before and after coating and its variation were examined, 100 unit cells 1 were produced, and the 100 electric double layer capacitors of the obtained unit cell 1 were The capacitance of the multilayer capacitor and its variation were measured.

  As shown in Table 1, by using a paste electrode in which the weight ratio Wc / Wac between the activated carbon powder (Wac) and the graphite powder (Wc) is 0.005 or more, the variation in the coating amount in the electrode sheet is 0.04 or less. I was able to suppress it. Similarly, it has been found that the variation in the capacitance of the unit cell can be suppressed to 0.01 or less. When the weight ratio Wc / Wac is 0.10 or more, it is confirmed that the capacitance of the unit cell is decreased because the amount of graphite powder added is increased, and the upper limit of the amount of graphite powder added is the weight ratio Wc / Wac. Was found to be preferably 0.10. In addition, regardless of whether the activated carbon is phenol resin-based activated carbon or coconut shell activated carbon, it can be seen that by adding an appropriate amount of graphite, both variation in the coating amount and capacitance variation in the electrode sheet can be suppressed. It was.

(Summary)
As described above, the paste electrode is composed of a mixture of activated carbon powder and graphite powder, and the weight ratio Wc / Wac between the activated carbon powder (Wac) and the graphite powder (Wc) is 0.005 to 0.10. Thus, the variation in capacitance can be reduced without causing a decrease in capacitance. This is because graphite powder is a material with excellent lubricity, and graphite can easily enter the gaps between the activated carbon powders.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a unit cell of an electric double layer capacitor of the present invention and a conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

1 unit cell 2 current collector 3 polarizable electrode (paste electrode)
4 Separator 5 Gasket

Claims (2)

An electric double layer capacitor having an electric double layer capacitor element in which a pair of polarizable electrodes containing a sulfuric acid aqueous solution and a pair of current collectors are arranged to face each other via a separator,
The electric double layer capacitor, wherein the polarizable electrode is composed of a mixture containing at least a sulfuric acid aqueous solution, activated carbon powder and graphite powder without containing an organic binder.   The electric double layer capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a weight ratio Wc / Wac of the activated carbon powder Wac and the graphite powder Wc constituting the polarizable electrode is 0.005 to 0.10.

Images