Improving supercapacitor charge storage

Supercapacitors are energy storage systems that are similar to batteries but are used when short high-intensity bursts of power are required, e.g. airbag deployment or camera flashes. My proposed research program capitalizes on my expertise in electrochemistry and supercapacitors to increase the amount of charge stored by a supercapacitor and increase the time the supercapacitor can store charge. Using environmentally-friendly supercapacitor materials we will generate fundamental understanding of how supercapacitors lose charge (i.e. self-discharge). Our long-term research goals will: (i) enable supercapacitors to hold charge for longer times; and (ii) result in an innovative electrode design which holds more charge, without sacrificing the supercapacitor's rapid response. Success in this program will lessen the need for frequent device recharging and reduce wasted energy, thereby enhancing supercapacitor performance in consumer devices.

Theme 1 of my research program establishes fundamental understanding of self-discharge, a collection of processes which cause supercapacitors to spontaneously lose their charge. Currently, there is little knowledge about how and why self-discharge occurs. Furthermore, there are few diagnostics to identify the chemical or physical process causing self-discharge. Using my supercapacitor expertise, my research group will formulate these necessary diagnostics, while building upon our discoveries into the causes of self-discharge and producing electrode materials which exhibit less self-discharge.

Theme 2 of my program develops new electrode designs to maintain the high power capabilities of current supercapacitors while addressing the problem of their low energy. The novelty in my group's approach to this problem comes from depositing high energy materials on only selected portions of the electrode, since during intense power bursts only part of the electrode is actually used. By strategically positioning high energy material on high power carbon my group's innovative electrode designs will maintain the benefits of both materials in order to meet the energy and power requirements of consumer devices.

Personnel trained in my program are well qualified for academia and a wide range of industrial positions. In my program personnel develop unique and highly valued skills in electrochemistry, including an intensive and extensive knowledge of supercapacitors and energy storage materials.

By using a dual approach of fundamental and applied research into self-discharge (Theme 1), and by developing novel materials exhibiting high power and energy simultaneously (Theme 2), my research will result in meaningful insights into the fundamental electrochemistry of supercapacitors, enhance their performance and broaden their use in applications, a benefit to Canada as we are a top 10 world producer of many the materials used in supercapacitors.