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Unlike ordinary capacitors, supercapacitors do not use a conventional solid dielectric, but rather, they use electrostatic double-layer capacitance and electrochemical pseudocapacitance, both of which contribute to the total energy storage of the capacitor.
The operating voltage range of a standard capacitor is very high, but for supercapacitors, it is between 2.5 and 2.7 V. The electrochemical supercapacitors are classified into three categories based on the charge storage mechanism: (1) electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), (2) pseudocapacitors, and (3) hybrid capacitors.
The supercapacitor, also known as ultracapacitor or double-layer capacitor, differs from a regular capacitor in that it has very high capacitance. A capacitor stores energy by means of a static charge as opposed to an electrochemical reaction. Applying a voltage differential on the positive and negative plates charges the capacitor.
Contemporary usage sees double-layer capacitors, together with pseudocapacitors, as part of a larger family of electrochemical capacitors called supercapacitors. They are also known as ultracapacitors. The properties of supercapacitors come from the interaction of their internal materials.