Energy and our future: a perspective from the Clemson Nanomaterials Center

Nanotechnology Reviews

article

Apparao M. Rao¹ 

[1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, 202 C Kinard Lab of Physics, United States of America;Clemson Nanomaterials Center, 202 C Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson University;Center for Optical Materials Science and Engineering Technologies, Clemson University, United States of America

关键词: carbon nanotubes;    Clemson Nanomaterials Center;    energy storage;    supercapacitors;   

DOI  :  10.1515/ntrev-2015-0046

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: De Gruyter

【 摘 要 】

Our increasing energy demands have spurred a rigorous search for renewable energy sources to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. However, efficient use of renewable energy is possible only with advances in both energy generation and storage. Today’s batteries and capacitors, which are the main energy storage devices, cannot meet the world’s demand for combined power and energy densities. To enhance the viability of such energy storing devices, the Clemson Nanomaterials Center (CNC) has developed a mix of scalable processes for carbon nanotube-based hybrid electrodes that show promise as a cost-effective alternative to standard activated carbon-based electrodes. Working together with industrial partners, CNC has fabricated supercapacitors with energy and power densities in the range of ~11–35 Wh/kg and ~1.2–9 W/kg, respectively. Although this research development is transformative, further studies to optimize the separator and electrolyte technologies are needed to maximize both the energy and power density in a single device.

【 授权许可】

CC BY