Novel experimental investigation of supercapacitor ageing during combined life-endurance and power-cycling tests

This paper proposes a new experimental investigation of the ageing mechanisms of supercapacitors. Starting from the main ageing mechanisms of these devices reported in the literature, the paper proposes a suitably developed procedure aimed at evaluating their ageing during combined life endurance and power cycling tests. In particular, the effect of the temperature (usually referred as life endurance) is evaluated in supercapacitors solicited with an a-priori defined power cycle. The effects of the temperature during the so-called recovering phase are also investigated. Each experimental finding is discussed by taking into account the phenomenon of the residual charge redistribution inside the supercapacitor electrodes.