Scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, Tsinghua University in China, and Case Western Reserve University in the USA claim to have developed a fiber supercapacitor that can be woven into clothing and power wearable medical monitors and communications.
The device packs an interconnected network of grapheneGraphene is an allotrope of carbon, whose structure is one-atom-thick planar sheets of sp2-bonded carbon atoms that are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. and carbon nanotubes so tightly that it stores energy comparable to some thin-film lithium batteries.
The product’s developers believe the device’s volumetric energy densityA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitors is the highest reported for carbon-based microscale supercapacitorsUnconventional internal design yields a larger capacitanceThat property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity when potential difference exists between the conductors. Its value is expressed as the ratio of a quantity of electricity to a potential difference. A capacitance value is always positive. per unit volume than other types. Valuable for high-current and low frequencyThe number of complete cycles or vibrations per unit of time. Rate of alternation in an AC current. Expressed in cycles per second or hertz (Hz). electrical circuits, power supply filters, etc. Applications are similar to those of rechargeable batteries. to date – 6.3 microwatt hours per cubic millimeter.
The device also maintains the advantage of charging and releasing energy much faster than a battery. The fiber-structured hybrid materials offer accessible surface areas and are highly conductive.
The researchers have developed a way to continuously produce the flexible fiber, enabling them to scale up production for a variety of uses. To date, they’veVolumetric Efficiency made 50-meter long fibers, and see no limits on length.
The scientists envision the fiber supercapacitor could be woven into clothing to power medical devices for people at home, or communications devices for soldiers in the field. The fiber could also be used as a space-saving power source and serve as ‘energy-carrying wires’ in medical implants.
Yuan Chen, a professor of chemical engineering at NTU led the new study, working with Dingshan Yu, Kunli Goh, Hong Wang, Li Wei and Wenchao Jiang at NTU; Qiang Zhang at Tsinghua; and Liming Dai at Case Western Reserve. The scientists report their research in Nature Nanotechnology.
Dai, a professor of macromolecular science and engineering at Case Western Reserve and a co-author of the paper, explained that most supercapacitorsUnconventional internal design yields a larger capacitanceThat property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity when potential difference exists between the conductors. Its value is expressed as the ratio of a quantity of electricity to a potential difference. A capacitance value is always positive. per unit volume than other types. Valuable for high-current and low frequencyThe number of complete cycles or vibrations per unit of time. Rate of alternation in an AC current. Expressed in cycles per second or hertz (Hz). electrical circuits, power supply filters, etc. Applications are similar to those of rechargeable batteries. have high power densityA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitors but low energy densityA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitors, which means they can chargeThe amount of electricity present upon the capacitor's plates. Also, the act of forcing of electrons onto the capacitor's plates. See CoulombA coulomb is the unit of electric charge. It is named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.1 coulomb is the amount of electric charge transported by a current of 1 ampere in 1 second. It can also be defined in terms of capacitance and voltage, where one coulomb is defined as one farad of capacitance times one volt of electric potential difference.. quickly and give a boost of power, but don’t last long. Conversely, batteries have high energy densityA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitors and low power densityA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitorsA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitors, which means they can last a long time, but do not deliver a large amount of energy quickly.
