Self-Discharge Characterization and Modeling of Electrochemical Capacitor Used for Power Electronics Applications

The self-discharge of an electrochemical capacitor, also referred to as a supercapacitor, is an important factor in determining the duration of maintaining stored energy, especially in low-duty-cycle applications. The study of self-discharge is conducted as follows: first, the self-discharge is characterized by measuring the decline of open-circuit voltage of the electrochemical capacitor. Second, the mechanisms of self-discharge, leakage current, and diffusion of ions at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces are modeled by an electrical equivalent circuit. The equivalent circuit elements are experimentally determined according to the self-discharge time behavior. In addition, the dependence of the self-discharge parameters on both temperature and initial voltage across the electrochemical capacitor is described in detail.