Nanoparticles Anchored to Graphene and Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Foam for Supercapacitors double the best commercial energy density at 39 watt hours per kg

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.

This RGM architecture demonstrates a novel graphene foam conformally covered with hybrid networks of RuO2 nanoparticles and anchored CNTs. SCs based on RGM show superior gravimetric and per-area capacitive performance (specific capacitance: 502.78 Farads per gram, areal capacitance: 1.11 F per square centimeter) which leads to an exceptionally high energy density of 39.28 Wh per kg and power density of 128.01 kW per kg. The electrochemical stability, excellent capacitive performance, and the ease of preparation suggest this RGM system is promising for future energy storage applications.

Nature Scientific Reports – Hydrous Ruthenium Oxide Nanoparticles Anchored to Graphene and Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Foam for Supercapacitors

In real life applications, supercapacitors (SCs) often can only be used as part of a hybrid system together with other high energy storage devices due to their relatively lower energy density in comparison to other types of energy storage devices such as batteries and fuel cells. Increasing the energy density of SCs will have a huge impact on the development of future energy storage devices by broadening the area of application for SCs. Here, we report a simple and scalable way of preparing a three-dimensional (3D) sub-5 nm hydrous ruthenium oxide (RuO2) anchored graphene and CNT hybrid foam (RGM) architecture for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.

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