Structural and Electrochemical Characterization of Ethylenediaminated Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Prepared from Fluorinated SWCNTs

We prepared ethylenediaminated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from fluorinated SWCNTs by substituting fluorine groups with ethylenediamine groups. The ethylenediaminated SWCNTs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman scattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurement by nitrogen adsorption, contact angle measurement, zeta potential analysis, and thermogravimetry. In addition, the properties of 30 wt % sulfuric acid aqueous electrolyte-based electric double-layer supercapacitors (EDLSCs) with free-standing ethylenediaminated SWCNT electrodes were investigated. The degree of ethylenediamine functionalization was 0.603 mmol/g and 1.46 μmol/m2, and the specific surface area was ∼413.3 m2/g. From HRTEM observation, isolated nanotubes disentangled from the bundled SWCNTs were present in many observed areas, and the structures retained a nanotube skeleton. The properties of the EDLSCs with the ethylenediaminated SWCNT electrodes included an average specific capacitance of 94 F/g at a low scan rate of 10 mV/s and an energy density of 2.6 Wh/kg at a power density of 0.24 kW/kg. The EDLSCs exhibited an average specific capacitance of 67 F/g at a high scan rate of 1000 mV/s and an energy density of 1.3 Wh/kg at a power density of 24 kW/kg, values that were superior to those of carboxylated SWCNT electrodes.