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Improved supercapacitors boost batteries, electric vehicles
Researchers develop novel supercapacitor architecture that provides 2 times more energy and power compared to supercapacitors commercially available today
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a novel nanometer scale ruthenium oxide anchored nanocarbon graphene foam architecture that improves the performance of supercapacitors, a development that could mean faster acceleration in electric vehicles and longer battery life in portable electronics.
The researchers found that supercapacitors, an energy storage device like batteries and fuel cells, based on transition metal oxide modified nanocarbon graphene foam electrode could work safely in aqueous electrolyte and deliver two times more energy and power compared to supercapacitors commercially available today.
The foam electrode was successfully cycled over 8,000 times with no fading in performance. The findings were outlined in a recently published paper, “Hydrous Ruthenium Oxide Nanoparticles Anchored to Graphene and Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Foam for Supercapacitors,” in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
The paper was written by graduate student Wei Wang; Cengiz S. Ozkan, a mechanical engineering professor at UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering; Mihrimah Ozkan, an electrical engineering professor; Francisco Zaera, a chemistry professor; Ilkeun Lee, a researcher in Zaera’s lab; and other graduate students Shirui Guo, Kazi Ahmed and Zachary Favors.
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  IMAGE: (a) This is a schematic illustration of the preparation process of RGM nanostructure foam. SEM images of (b–c) as-grown GM foam (d) Lightly loaded RGM, and (e) heavily loaded RGM…. |
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Supercapacitors (also known as ultracapacitors) have garnered substantial attention in recent years because of their ultra-high charge and discharge rate, excellent stability, long cycle life and very high power density.
These characteristics are desirable for many applications including electric vehicles and portable electronics. However, supercapacitors may only serve as standalone power sources in systems that require power delivery for less than 10 seconds because of their relatively low specific energy.
A team led by Cengiz S. Ozkan and Mihri Ozkan at UC Riverside are working to develop and commercialize nanostructured materials for high energy density supercapacitors.
High capacitance, or the ability to store an electrical charge, is critical to achieve higher energy density. Meanwhile, to achieve a higher power density it is critical to have a large electrochemically accessible surface area, high electrical conductivity, short ion diffusion pathways and excellent interfacial integrity. Nanostructured active materials provide a mean to these ends.
“Besides high energy and power density, the designed graphene foam electrode system also demonstrates a facile and scalable binder-free technique for preparing high energy supercapacitor electrodes,” Wang said. “These promising properties mean that this design could be ideal for future energy storage applications.”
15 Comments on "Improved supercapacitors boost batteries, electric vehicles"
GregT on Tue, 20th May 2014 9:51 am
Overpopulation, looming food and water crises, deforestation, soil degradation, fisheries depletion, pollution, and loss of biodiversity. All very serious problems facing mankind.
What are we doing about these problems? Looking for even more ways to make them exponentially worse.
Intelligent? Perhaps. Smart? Not so much.
J-Gav on Tue, 20th May 2014 10:05 am
I’m not against improved storage capacity and higher power density but these things come with a price tag.
A recent study here in France says the main reasons electric cars haven’t caught on here are: high initial cost and limited recharging infracture, whose build-out would cost a mint. As it is, they have to promise people a year’s worth of free recharges to get them to sign on … Just doesn’t look like a winner to me on any large scale. Good for taxis and municipal vehicle fleets but that’s about it.
Beery on Tue, 20th May 2014 10:13 am
When the battery adds a ton to a vehicle’s weight, it ain’t part of any energy solution.
foxv on Tue, 20th May 2014 10:37 am
well it’s all nice and dandy, but they will still have to double the capacity again to reach that of a lithium battery.
And then there’s a little matter of “mechanical failure”. If you thought lithium batteries were fun, you’re in for a nice treat watching a supercap go.
Imagine your brand new Tesla Roadster instantly turning in to the world’s largest flash-bang; And you’re inside of it. This is not just playing with fire, it’s playing with lightning.
Meld on Tue, 20th May 2014 10:56 am
clap…..clap…..clap…..clap…clap…etc.
dubya on Tue, 20th May 2014 2:13 pm
foxv:
I question why you state that a battery or capacitor is so dangerous – have you ever seen the results when the 50l of gasoline in a IC vehicle catch fire?
Some rough Prius numbers:
kinetic energy: ~1 MJ
Battery: 16MJ
Gas tank: 2000MJ
foxv on Tue, 20th May 2014 3:20 pm
It’s not about the amount of energy, it’s the rate of release.
Gasoline is limited to the rate at which in can be fed oxygen. Sure a small leak that catches fire will eventually boil the tank, cause a rupture, and then a fireball. However that takes time and in most cases people can flee the area.
Lithium batteries contain their own oxygen so erupt much more quickly and are unquenchable.
A supercap releases it’s energy in a single instantaneous electrical discharge that vaporizes metal in a violent explosion. Anyone ever see, or at least hear, a utility transform blow? It’s along those lines except much higher energy levels as transformers are not actually energy storage devices.
I’ve worked with small super caps to basically function as a rechargeable coin-cell battery (about 2KJ). Safety requirements had us remove them as soon as the inspectors saw them. The “What if” being what happens if someone pokes a screwdriver into our product, even though there is no reason to do so?
Now play that “what if” with an 8MJ super cap at 300 Volts.
But not around me thanks. I don’t want to have to wash bits of you out of my hair
XD
Mike999 on Tue, 20th May 2014 10:27 pm
The $300,000 Italian super cars are now going hybrid, along with BMW. Toyota is racing a super capacitor race car. Nissan has their EV racer.
Battery weight is dropping and power is increasing 20% a year. An Electric motor is a better Supercharger then a supercharger.
Right wing needs to learn RATIO.
The number of fires in EV’s, is Vastly outnumbered by Explosive Gas Engine vehicles.
Mike999 on Tue, 20th May 2014 10:30 pm
Let’s must admit it, the right is Never right.
– Global Warming: check.
– Economics: check.
– Hyperinflation hysteria? when interest rates never even got above 3%: Check.
– Gold bubble: The Rush Limbaugh Gold Bubble, Rush and Wall Street suckered the suckers. Gold now falling back to it’s pre-bullshit price.
– Gold vs. Stocks over 15 years: Stock appreciate at 6%, Gold at 2%. Why? Gold does not Innovate.
– But, you tea party types, your going to love Paul Ryan’s Gutting of your Social Security, so there is that.
GregT on Wed, 21st May 2014 12:53 am
foxv,
Thank you for adding some intelligence to the conversation.
Beery on Wed, 21st May 2014 5:42 am
“Sure a small leak that catches fire will eventually boil the tank, cause a rupture, and then a fireball. However that takes time and in most cases people can flee the area.”
The thing is, people tend to assume gasoline is an explosion waiting to happen, but gasoline in a gas tank is not very flammable – there’s usually not nearly enough oxygen in there to favor ignition. You can even shoot it with incendiary rounds and most times it will not even catch fire. Gas tanks explode only if they are badly and suddenly ruptured (and therefore mixed with oxygen) and exposed to an ignition source. This doesn’t happen very often.
Beery on Wed, 21st May 2014 5:54 am
“Battery weight is dropping and power is increasing 20% a year.”
Battery weight will never drop to anywhere near the level it needs to be to make electric cars part of an energy solution. Any vehicle that weighs more than the human it transports is inherently inefficient, and the last thing we need as we go into a future of energy constraints is energy inefficiency.
foxv on Wed, 21st May 2014 11:13 am
I love it Mike, everything is a polar argument. Left/right, up/down, wrong/right.
Such polarization of thoughts demonstrates a fundamental lack of information and understanding.
It’s not actually relevant to the topic, and pointless as this article has moved on, but I’m actually VERY liberal.
And for your check list, what are you trying to say? I would say from that list, everyone is wrong, left and right. XD
MKohnen on Thu, 22nd May 2014 1:45 am
foxv,
Blown up my fair share of caps, and I couldn’t agree with you more. All and all, even though I really like the concept, at this point EV’s are just a shell game distraction being played on the road to depletion.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Thu, 22nd May 2014 6:07 am
Electric personal transport is nothing more than a niche “played on the road to depletion”…nice quote MK!