Say goodbye to your phone battery and charger. A new structural material could transform a mobile device’s entire case into a hybrid super-capacitor/battery, making traditional batteries obsolete.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Nanomaterials and Energy Devices Laboratory are now designing materials that combine the best aspects of super-capacitors and batteries into a single hybrid material suitable for making such device cases. While the material’s 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 currently less than that of a lithium-ion battery, it makes up for densityA figure of merit usually expressed in Joules per cubic inch for capacitors by the much bigger volume of a case — plus it eliminates the space needed for a battery.
“My group is now looking at developing hybrid capacitors — batteries that behave like capacitors — that can maintain ultra-long cycling lifetimes like supercaps but store and deliver almost as much energy as current lithium-ion batteries,” professor Cary Pint told EE Times about his work with doctoral candidate Andrew Westover at Vanderbilt.
Pint has hopes that his hybrid super-capacitor material can be built into the structure of all types of construction projects — from the siding and drywall of homes to the chassis of airplanes.
“One of the key motivating factors in pursuing this technology was to develop energy storage materials that could be integrated into homes, which would increase the economic value of solar cells that are placed on the roof and enable a distributed energy electric grid system,” Pint told us.
