Catechol-Modified Carbon Cloth as Hybrid Electrode for Energy Storage Devices

Diazonium chemistry was used to enrich Kynol carbon cloth with catechol (dihydroxybenzene) moieties as redox agents. Comprehensive surface analyses (combining BET, SEM, TGA, and TGA-GC/MS) were carried out to evaluate the effect of redox molecules grafted over the carbon cloth surface. Electrochemical deprotection of 3,4-dimethoxyaniline grafted to the electrochemically active catechol, followed by electrochemical assessment in a three-electrode cell, shows a faradaic contribution due to redox reactions from the catechol-grafted moieties. Galvanostatic measurements underline the remarkably stable performance of this redox reaction, which permits over 3,000 cycles.