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。 *** 我的研究项目的主题1建立了对自放电的基本理解，这是一系列导致超级电容器自发失去电荷的过程。 目前，关于自放电如何以及为什么发生的知识很少。 此外，很少有诊断方法来识别导致自放电的化学或物理过程。 利用我的超级电容器专业知识，我的研究小组将制定这些必要的诊断方法，同时根据我们对自放电原因的发现，生产出自放电较少的电极材料。 *** 我的计划的主题2开发新的电极设计，以保持当前超级电容器的高功率能力，同时解决其低能量的问题。 我的小组解决这个问题的方法的新奇来自于仅在电极的选定部分上沉积高能材料，因为在强烈的功率突发期间，实际上只使用电极的一部分。 通过将高能量材料战略性地定位于高功率碳材料，我们团队的创新电极设计将保持这两种材料的优势，以满足消费设备的能量和功率要求。 在我的程序培训的人员是学术界和广泛的工业职位资格。在我的程序人员开发电化学独特和高度重视的技能，包括超级电容器和储能材料的密集和广泛的知识。*** 通过使用自放电基础和应用研究的双重方法（主题1），并通过开发同时显示高功率和能量的新型材料（主题2），我的研究将对超级电容器的基础电化学产生有意义的见解，提高其性能并拓宽其应用，这对加拿大有利，因为我们是超级电容器所用许多材料的世界十大生产商。

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. *** Theme 1 of my research program establishes fundamental understanding of self-discharge, a collection of processes which cause supercapacitors to spontaneously lose their charge. Currently, there is little knowledge about how and why self-discharge occurs. Furthermore, there are few diagnostics to identify the chemical or physical process causing self-discharge. Using my supercapacitor expertise, my research group will formulate these necessary diagnostics, while building upon our discoveries into the causes of self-discharge and producing electrode materials which exhibit less self-discharge. *** Theme 2 of my program develops new electrode designs to maintain the high power capabilities of current supercapacitors while addressing the problem of their low energy. The novelty in my group's approach to this problem comes from depositing high energy materials on only selected portions of the electrode, since during intense power bursts only part of the electrode is actually used. By strategically positioning high energy material on high power carbon my group's innovative electrode designs will maintain the benefits of both materials in order to meet the energy and power requirements of consumer devices.*** Personnel trained in my program are well qualified for academia and a wide range of industrial positions. In my program personnel develop unique and highly valued skills in electrochemistry, including an intensive and extensive knowledge of supercapacitors and energy storage materials. *** By using a dual approach of fundamental and applied research into self-discharge (Theme 1), and by developing novel materials exhibiting high power and energy simultaneously (Theme 2), my research will result in meaningful insights into the fundamental electrochemistry of supercapacitors, enhance their performance and broaden their use in applications, a benefit to Canada as we are a top 10 world producer of many the materials used in supercapacitors.