Supercapacitors and Batteries from Sol-Gel Derived Carbon - Metal Oxide Electrodes

Abstract

Abstract : The duration of this program was 48 months (7 Sept. 96-31 Aug. 00). During this time, significant accomplishments were achieved. Eight refereed research articles are in print; one proceedings volume publication is in print; and four manuscripts are under review. They collective deal with the synthesis, characterization and modeling of supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries. Six graduate students contributed to the accomplishments of this research program: four have received Ph.D. degrees, one has received an M.S. degree, and one will defend his Ph.D. in the Spring of 2001. All those that received degrees are either employed in a major US company or carrying out postgraduate research at a US institution. These students were supervised by a unique research team comprised of five experts with wide ranges of expertise in the electrochemical area, including materials synthesis and characterization, mathematical modeling, and molecular modeling. Major accomplishments are too numerous to list here, but they encompass the objectives of this program, which were to produce a new class of sol-gel based capacitors and batteries, and to develop a detailed understanding of how the microscopic material properties control the macroscopic material performance, and ultimately provide new mathematical screening tools that will reduce the cost of sol-gel materials synthesis and characterization, and aid in the systematic design and development of novel electrode systems as electrochemical power sources. Many of these goals were achieved, and research is continuing in these areas that were initiated with this grant.