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Ultrahigh-power micrometre-sized supercapacitors based on onion-like carbon

Abstract

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy in two closely spaced layers with opposing charges, and are used to power hybrid electric vehicles, portable electronic equipment and other devices1. By offering fast charging and discharging rates, and the ability to sustain millions of cycles2,3,4,5, electrochemical capacitors bridge the gap between batteries, which offer high energy densities but are slow, and conventional electrolytic capacitors, which are fast but have low energy densities. Here, we demonstrate microsupercapacitors with powers per volume that are comparable to electrolytic capacitors, capacitances that are four orders of magnitude higher, and energies per volume that are an order of magnitude higher. We also measured discharge rates of up to 200 V s−1, which is three orders of magnitude higher than conventional supercapacitors. The microsupercapacitors are produced by the electrophoretic deposition of a several-micrometre-thick layer of nanostructured carbon onions6,7 with diameters of 6–7 nm. Integration of these nanoparticles in a microdevice with a high surface-to-volume ratio, without the use of organic binders and polymer separators, improves performance because of the ease with which ions can access the active material. Increasing the energy density and discharge rates of supercapacitors will enable them to compete with batteries and conventional electrolytic capacitors in a number of applications.

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Figure 1: Design of the interdigital microsupercapacitor with OLC electrodes.
Figure 2: Electrochemical characterizations of the microdevices.
Figure 3: Comparison of microsupercapacitors and other energy storage devices.
Figure 4: Comparison, in a Ragone plot, of the specific energy and power density (per cm3 of stack) of typical electrolytic capacitors, supercapacitors and batteries with the microdevices.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank M. Heon, J.-J. Niu and J. McDonough (Drexel University) for experimental help. Raman spectroscopy and TEM analyses were conducted using instruments in the Centralized Research Facility of the College of Engineering, Drexel University. The effort at Drexel University is based upon work supported as part of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport (FIRST) Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under award no. ERKCC61. Microdevice fabrication including EPD, and electron microscopy of the deposited material were performed in the technological facilities of LAAS-CNRS. Electrochemical characterization was conducted at CIRIMAT laboratory. Work at LAAS-CNRS was supported by the FRAE (Fondation de Recherche pour l'Aéronautique et l'Espace). P. Huang was supported by a PhD grant from the PRES of the Université de Toulouse. H. Durou was supported by a PhD grant from CNRS (BDI: Bourse Docteur Ingénieur). Collaboration between the participating universities was supported by a Partnership University Fund (PUF) grant.

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Contributions

M.B. and D.P. conceived and designed the experiments for the elaboration of the electrochemical microcapacitors. H.D. was involved in the conception of the microdevice patterns. D.P. established the EPD process. Y.G. was involved in material synthesis and characterization. V.M. carried out the simulation of OLC formation. D.P., P.H., P.L.T. and P.S. performed the electrochemical characterizations. D.P., M.B., P.S. and Y.G. co-wrote the paper, and all authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Magali Brunet.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Pech, D., Brunet, M., Durou, H. et al. Ultrahigh-power micrometre-sized supercapacitors based on onion-like carbon. Nature Nanotech 5, 651–654 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2010.162

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