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https://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-engineers-hail-new-supercapacitor-tech-that-may-store-enough-energy-to-replace-batteries/>
"Engineers from Australia’s Monash University have reportedly made a
significant breakthrough in supercapacitor technology that they say could pave
the way for next-generation applications in electrified transport, grid
stabilisation, and consumer electronics.
Supercapacitors are labelled as an emerging class of energy storage device that
store charge electrostatically, rather than through chemical reactions such as
those found in traditional batteries.
However, while offering fast charging, quick energy discharge, and a very long
cycle life, supercapacitors have been limited by low energy density, storing
less energy per volume or weight.
Conversely, lithium-ion batteries provide high energy density for a longer
discharge, even though they charge slower, have a shorter lifespan, and lower
power density.
The issue for supercapacitors has been that only a small fraction of the carbon
material’s surface area was accessible for use.
But in a new study published in
Nature Communications, a team of engineers
from Monash University have created a new kind of carbon-based material that
allows supercapacitors to store as much energy as traditional lead-acid
batteries.
They say they can do this while still maintaining the benefits inherent in
supercapacitor technology, such as delivering power far faster than
conventional batteries can manage.
Specifically, by using a rapid thermal annealing process and a new material
architecture synthesised from natural graphite – an abundant Australian
resource – the Monash team was able to create multiscale reduced graphene oxide
(M-rGO), a highly curved graphene structure with precise pathways for ions to
move quickly and efficiently.
The resulting material offers both high energy density and high power density –
a combination that is rarely achieved in a single device."
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
