Aerogels Utilization in Electrochemical Capacitors

Supercapacitors are the integral part of electrochemical energy conversion and storage media. Energy storage mechanism is different in supercapacitors compared to batteries and results in exhibition of excellent power density. The supercapacitor performance is sensitive to material used as electrode, nature of electrolyte, etc. and the very significant is electrode surface nature. Based on the type of energy storage mechanism, supercapacitors are divided as electrochemical double-layer capacitors and pseudocapacitors. There is a practice to have both kind of these materials as electrode materials to achieve high electrochemical performance. Aerogels with inherent characteristics such as large pores, very high surface area, and superior mechanical stability make them superior candidates for electrode materials for high performance electrochemical supercapacitors. In this chapter, aerogels derived from different sources, their suitability and performance in view of electrochemical supercapacitors are discussed.