Output details
12 - Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering
University of Sheffield : B - Chemical and Biological engineering
Effect of activated carbon xerogel pore size on the capacitance performance of ionic liquid electrolytes
Perhaps the Holy Grail of energy storage is to develop supercapacitors with an energy density approaching that of batteries. This is because supercapacitors recharge in seconds and have cycle lives of over 10^6 (c.f. hours and 10^3 for batteries). Our strategy is to increase operating voltage (V) and intrinsic capacitance (C), E=1/2 C V^2. Ionic liquid based supercapacitors operate at higher cell voltages than commercially available devices. This paper is important not only because we demonstrate how to engineer pore architectures that optimise capacitance performance but also because we elucidate the mechanism why pore size is fundamental to performance.
