Recent progress and development prospects of mobile current sources

Abstract

Physicochemical fundamentals have been developed for the basic design solutions and fabrication technologies of prospective electrolytic power cells with a reusable cell capacity of 350–500 W·h/kg at the first stage and 1000 W·h/kg at the second stage. Along with conventional chemical current sources and ionistors, there are emerging high-performance supercapacitor structures with thin dielectric in the double electric layer and hybrid capacitors in which energy is accumulated in the double electric layer and due to electrochemical processes. This approach reduces the internal resistance of the electrolytic cells thus decreasing the heat emission during operation and therefore providing for a higher specific energy capacity and operation safety, shorter charging time and an increase in specific power. Prospective anode is a nanostructured electrode material in the form of a carbon matrix filled with a nanostructured chemically active material. Promising carbon matrix fillers are Li and its alloys, Si, Al, Na, Sn, Mg, Zn, Ni, Co, Ag, as well as a range of other materials and their compounds. The effect of carbon material specific surface area, dielectric permeability and chemically active material addition on the specific energy capacity has been studied. Theoretical specific energy capacity of metal/air hybrid capacitors has been calculated. Thin-film technological system has been designed for new generation electrode materials in the form of carbon matrices with highly developed surface containing thin tunneling dielectrics and chemically active materials on dielectric surface.