Comparative study of electrochemical capacitance of multi-walled carbon nanotubes before and after chopping

In the work, short multi-walled carbon nanotubes (S-CNTs) were synthesized by chopping conventional μm-long multi-walled carbon nanotubes (L-CNTs) under ultrasonication in H2SO4/HNO3 mixed acids. A comparative electrochemical investigation performed in 6 M KOH solution demonstrated that a specific capacitance (SC) of ca. 14.6 μF cm−2 was delivered by the S-CNTs with the specific surface area (SSA) of 207 m2 g−1, much larger than that of ca. 10.1 μF cm−2 for the L-CNTs with the SSA of 223 m2 g−1, the reason for which was that S-CNTs with two open ends, due to good ion penetrability, provided more entrances for electrolyte ions to access the inner surface easily through their shorter inner pathway so as to enhance their SSA utilization and geometric SC. The surface structure disruption of S-CNTs, owing to ultrasonication and oxidation during chopping process, deteriorated their electronic conductivity and resulted in an inferior power property in contrast to L-CNTs.