Communications of the ACM
Energy-Storing Material Could Also Be Used To Build Electronic Gadgets
Co-authors and UCSD Ph.D. students Nandu Koripally (left) and Lulu Yao (left) helped fabricate and test the structural supercapacitor.
Credit: UC San Diego
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed what's called a structural supercapacitor — a device that provides both structural support and energy storage capabilities. Such a device could add more power to electronic gadgets and vehicles without adding extra weight, allowing them to last longer on a single charge.
It has been a longstanding challenge to create a single device that excels at both bearing mechanical loads and storing electrical energy efficiently. Traditional supercapacitors store energy but lack the mechanical strength. Structural materials can provide support but fall short on energy storage.
The UC San Diego team, led by Tse Nga (Tina) Ng, working with researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi, achieved both in a new structural supercapacitor, which they describe in Science Advances.
The device consists of standard supercapacitor components: a pair of electrode surfaces separated by an electrolyte. What's different are the materials in the electrodes, which are made from carbon fibers woven into a fabric. The carbon fiber fabric itself provides substantial structural strength. Moreover, it is coated with a special mixture composed of a conductive polymer and reduced graphene oxide, which significantly enhances ion flow and energy storage capacity.
The researchers say the work represents a significant advancement toward structural energy storage, but note that there is still work to be done on increasing the energy density of the supercapacitor and making it comparable to some battery packs.
From University of California San Diego
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