The science and technology of ultracapacitors are reviewed for a number of electrode materials, including carbon, mixed metal oxides, and conducting polymers. More work has been done using microporous carbons than with the other materials and most of the commercially available devices use carbon electrodes and an organic electrolytes. The energy density of these devices is 3¯5 Wh/kg with a power density of 300¯500 W/kg for high efficiency (90¯95%) charge/discharges. Projections of future developments using carbon indicate that energy densities of 10 Wh/kg or higher are likely with power densities of 1¯2 kW/kg. A key problem in the fabrication of these advanced devices is the bonding of the thin electrodes to a current collector such the contact resistance is less than 0.1 cm2. Special attention is given in the paper to comparing the power density characteristics of ultracapacitors and batteries. The comparisons should be made at the same charge/discharge efficiency.

Ultracapacitors: Why, How, and Where is the Technology

The world is recently witnessing an explosive development of novel electronic and optoelectronic devices that demand more-reliable power sources that combine higher energy density and longer-term durability. Supercapacitors have become one of the most promising energy-storage systems, as they present multifold advantages of high power density, fast charging-discharging, and long cyclic stability. However, the intrinsically low energy density inherent to traditional supercapacitors severely limits their widespread applications, triggering researchers to explore new types of supercapacitors with improved performance. Asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) assembled using two dissimilar electrode materials offer a distinct advantage of wide operational voltage window, and thereby significantly enhance the energy density. Recent progress made in the field of ASCs is critically reviewed, with the main focus on an extensive survey of the materials developed for ASC electrodes, as well as covering the progress made in the fabrication of ASC devices over the last few decades. Current challenges and a future outlook of the field of ASCs are also discussed.

Asymmetric Supercapacitor Electrodes and Devices.

Influence of nanoscale surface topography on protein adsorption and cellular response

Supercapacitors are highly attractive for a large number of emerging mobile devices for addressing energy storage and harvesting issues. This mini review presents a summary of recent developments in supercapacitor research and technology, including all kinds of supercapacitor design techniques using various electrode materials and production methods. It also covers the current progress achieved in novel materials for supercapacitor electrodes. The latest produced EDLC/hybrid/pseudo-supercapacitors have also been described. In particular, metal oxides, specifically ZnO, used as electrode materials are in focus here. Eventually, future developments, prospects, and challenges in supercapacitor research have been elaborated on.

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Current progress achieved in novel materials for supercapacitor electrodes: mini review

Microwave-assisted synthesis of metal oxide/hydroxide composite electrodes for high power supercapacitors – A review

Supercapacitors are considered to be promising candidates for power devices in future generations. These devices are expected to find many future applications in hybrid electric vehicles an...

Supercapacitors: Review of Materials and Fabrication Methods

In the recent years, there has been considerable research interest in microfluidic devices which are based on the single or multiphase flow of liquids and gases through micro-scale channels or systems fabricated by micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Due to their ability to perform complex, multiple tasks with biochemicals, such devices have many applications, especially in the biomedicine area and are expected to continue generating interest. However, due to the need for handling micro-scale flow of liquids and the diverse nature of microfluidic devices, some of the major challenges in their development are the establishment of chip-to-world fluidic interconnects and device packaging. This paper reports on the development of a generic fluidic interconnect methodology based on assembly and plugging-in of the components. This approach greatly simplifies the currently difficult task of implementing fluidic connections and provides an integration capability that facilitates the experimental development of microfluidic devices.

A Generic Chip-to-World Fluidic Interconnect System for Microfluidic Devices

This paper describes the evaluation of carbon paper electrodes for supercapacitor applications. The electrodes are based on carbon micro-fiber paper modified with active material consisting of layers of silver nano-particulate ink and a nanocomposite of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and silver nano-particulate ink. The electrodes were characterized microscopically and electrically. Current–voltage studies revealed a consistent Ohmic behavior of the electrode when modified with different nanostructured active material. Among the active materials incorporated into the electrode, a nanocomposite of carbon nanotubes and silver nano-particulate ink significantly improved capacitance. The paper electrodes can be used for lightweight and ultrathin supercapacitors and other portable energy applications.

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Carbon nanotube nanocomposite-modified paper electrodes for supercapacitor applications

An apparatus and method are disclosed for imaging a diffraction grating with a very high depth of focus, using a highly accurate code plate position measurement system. Positions may be measured to an accuracy of 1 nm or even smaller. The system may be used in fields such as manufacturing integrated circuits, and low- and very-low-frequency geophones, and other low- and very-low-frequency acoustic detectors.

Li Jiang

Papers

Supercapacitors: Review of Materials and Fabrication Methods

A Generic Chip-to-World Fluidic Interconnect System for Microfluidic Devices

Carbon nanotube nanocomposite-modified paper electrodes for supercapacitor applications

High precision code plates and geophones

Miniature supercapacitors based on nanocomposite thin films