Improving supercapacitor charge storage

超级电容器是一种类似于电池的能量存储系统，但在需要短时间高强度的电力突发时使用，例如安全气囊展开或相机闪光。我提出的研究计划利用我在电化学和超级电容器方面的专业知识，增加超级电容器存储的电荷量，并增加超级电容器存储电荷的时间。使用环保的超级电容器材料，我们将对超级电容器如何失去电荷（即自放电）产生基本的理解。我们的长期研究目标是：（i）使超级电容器能够保持更长时间的电荷;（ii）在不牺牲超级电容器快速响应的情况下，实现创新的电极设计，保持更多的电荷。该计划的成功将减少频繁的设备充电需求，减少能源浪费，从而提高消费类设备中超级电容器的性能。

Supercapacitors are energy storage systems that are similar to batteries but are used when short high-intensity bursts of power are required, e.g. airbag deployment or camera flashes. My proposed research program capitalizes on my expertise in electrochemistry and supercapacitors to increase the amount of charge stored by a supercapacitor and increase the time the supercapacitor can store charge. Using environmentally-friendly supercapacitor materials we will generate fundamental understanding of how supercapacitors lose charge (i.e. self-discharge). Our long-term research goals will: (i) enable supercapacitors to hold charge for longer times; and (ii) result in an innovative electrode design which holds more charge, without sacrificing the supercapacitor’s rapid response. Success in this program will lessen the need for frequent device recharging and reduce wasted energy, thereby enhancing supercapacitor performance in consumer devices.