New-generation energy storage nanomaterials: synthesis, characterization and lab-scale device fabrication

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Global energy demand is growing rapidly and significantly as energy, the key ingredient in all sectors of modern economy, has invaded the quality of life today due to our dependency on its abundant and uninterrupted supply. Fabrication of economically viable and environment friendly high energy storage device is one of the major challenges for the current scientific community. To meet the urgent need for environment-friendly, high efficiency energy storage and conversion devices for high-power electronic devices, backup power supplies, and electric vehicles, efforts have been made to develop batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors (ECs) with the aim of replacing fossil fuel use. Supercapacitors have received much attention because they can simultaneously achieve high power and high energy densities and have shown great promises for use in electronic devices, backup power supplies, and electric vehicles. A supercapacitor device is fabricated using two electrodes, immersed in an electrolyte, like batteries, but separated by an insulated porous material such as polymer membranes. In this project, nanostructure translon metal oxides (TMO) thin films will be grown on aluminum since it will be used as charge collectors. These thin films will be further modified with carbon nanotube, graphene or conducting polymer, separately, to create nanostructured composite thin films supercapacitor electrodes with improved electronic and ionic conductivities. Above all, these nanocomposite thin films electrodes will utilize both energy storage mechanisms of pseudocapacitors and electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC) due to the presence of both TMO and carbon materials. The fabricated electrodes will be used to assemble lab-scale supercapacitor devices and characterize them systematically. The nanocomposite materials will be fabricated by decomposing superhydrophobic organic-inorganic network which is completely innovative; hence the outcome of the research is patentable. Due to the possibilities to control of the size of the nanopatterns on aluminum using anodized aluminum pore (AAO) and micro-nanosphere lithography, the outcome of the research will enable us to fabricate a supercapacitor device having light weight, small size, low cost with high energy, high power and long cycle life. Similarly, use of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), a product of wood, in energy application would bring fundamental knowledge as well as practical applications for Quebec, Canada as well as internationally. This new knowledge will be transferred through training of four HQP's who expected to be graduated within five years. Moreover, this transfer will be disseminated through publications in international journals.