High Performance Structural Electrochemical Double Layer Supercapacitors Using Graphene-Metal Nanoparticle-Polymer Composites

Electrochemical double layer (ECDL) supercapacitors (SCs) offer a promising technology to address the ever-increasing demand on power and energy in modern technologies. Unlike batteries, which have high energy density, but low power densities, the SCs can provide very high power density, but generally have low energy density. This can, however, be surmounted by using Gr which can act as a high mobility electrode as well as efficient charge collector from the electrochemical double layer formed near its surface. Additionally, use of Gr as electrode material puts little or no penalty on weight and can be easily integrated in structural platform. Taking advantage of such novel properties of Gr, we have we have begun to develop Gr-Metal/metal oxide nanoparticle (MNP)-polymer (Poly) composite –based electrochemical super-capacitors. The resulting SCs, where Gr-MNP-Poly composite serves as the electrodes, charged through a capacitive double-layer mechanism, exhibit considerably high power density as well as energy density, not achievable by batteries. Results on the electrochemical properties of ECDL SCs formed with the use of Gr-PdNP, Gr-porous CuO, and Gr-AgNP and conducting polymer composites will be presented.