Nanomanufacturing of Activated Carbon Nanosphere-Based Supercapacitors from Industrial Biomass Waste

强烈需要具有高电容、高能量和高功率密度的能量存储装置。这些能量存储装置在电力运输和生物工程的发展中是必需的，用于减少温室气体的排放，包括二氧化碳、甲烷和一氧化二氮。电化学超级电容器主要基于碳材料，可以比锂离子电池具有更快的充电速率和更长的寿命，并且可以提供清洁和高效的电力。电化学超级电容器的能量密度可以通过增加活性材料与电解质的接触而显著增加。该项目涉及多个学科的研究，包括纳米制造，能量存储，电化学，建模与仿真。它将导致制造具有显著改善的电-化学-机械性能的一类能源材料的加工技术的进步，有助于增加工程劳动力，并提高美国在能源和运输领域的竞争力和领导地位。该研究成果也将在微观尺度上提供对电化学循环对材料力学行为影响的更好理解。生产高性能储能器件的能力有望对各种应用产生重大影响，包括汽车，便携式电子，光子学和生物工程。本研究将从工业生物质废物衍生物（例如波旁酒糟）合成活性碳纳米球（ACN）和碳纳米球基复合材料，用于电化学双层电容器，并研究电化学循环对ACN特性的影响，包括微观结构，表面形貌和化学组成。电化学压痕系统将被开发用于在电化学循环过程中的力学行为的原位表征的丙烯腈。本研究将建立电化学循环作用下丙烯腈的力学响应的数值模拟，研究动电流动和离子扩散对电化学双电层电容器结构耐久性的耦合作用，以帮助设计更好的具有更高能量容量和更长耐久性的基于丙烯腈的超级电容器。

There is a strong need for energy storage devices with high capacitance, high energy and high power density. These energy storage devices are required in the development of electric-based transportation and bioengineering for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Electrochemical supercapacitors, which are mostly based on carbon materials, can have much faster charging rates and longer life-times than lithium-ion batteries and can deliver clean and efficient power. The energy density of electrochemical supercapacitors can be increased significantly via the increase in the contact of active materials with electrolyte. This project involve researches in several disciplines, including nanomanufacturing, energy storage, electrochemistry, modeling and simulation. It will lead to the advancement of the processing technology for the fabrication of a class of energy materials with significantly improved electrical-chemical-mechanical properties, help grow the engineering workforce, and enhance U.S. competitiveness and leadership in the areas of energy and transportation. The research results will also provide a better understanding of the effects of electrochemical cycling on the mechanical behavior of materials on the microscale.The ability to produce high performance energy storage devices promises to have a significant impact on various applications, including automobiles, portable electronics, photonics, and bioengineering. This research will synthesize activated carbon nanospheres (ACNs) and carbon nanosphere-based composites from industrial biomass waste derivatives (e.g. bourbon stillage) for applications in electrochemical double layer capacitors, and investigate the effect of electrochemical cycling on the characteristics of the ACNs, including microstructure, surface morphology, and chemical composition. Electrochemical indentation system will be developed for in situ characterization of the mechanical behavior of the ACNs during electrochemical cycling. Numerical modeling of the mechanical response of the ACNs under the action of electrochemical cycling will be developed to investigate the coupling effect between electrokinetic flow and the diffusion of ions on the structural durability of electrochemical double layer capacitors to help design better ACN-based supercapacitors with higher energy capacity and longer durability.