Seminar Report On Graphene Supercapacitor

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

Graphene is a single layer (monolayer) of carbon atoms, tightly bound in a hexagonal

honeycomb lattice. It is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a plane of sp2-bonded atoms
with a molecular bond length of 0.142 nanometres. Layers of graphene stacked on top of each
other form graphite, with an interplanar spacing of 0.335 nanometres. The separate layers of
graphene in graphite are held together by van der Waals forces, which can be overcome
during exfoliation of graphene from graphite.

Graphene is the thinnest compound known to man at one atom thick, the lightest
material known (with 1 square metre weighing around 0.77 milligrams), the strongest
compound discovered (between 100-300 times stronger than steel with a tensile strength of
130 GPa and a Young's modulus of 1 TPa - 150,000,000 psi), the best conductor of heat at
room temperature (at (4.84±0.44) × 10^3 to (5.30±0.48) × 10^3 W·m−1·K−1) and also the
best conductor of electricity known (studies have shown electron mobility at values of more
than 200,000 cm2·V−1·s−1). Other notable properties of graphene are its uniform absorption
of light across the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum (πα ≈ 2.3%), and its
potential suitability for use in spin transport.

Bearing this in mind, one might be surprised to know that carbon is the second most
abundant mass within the human body and the fourth most abundant element in the universe
(by mass), after hydrogen, helium and oxygen. This makes carbon the chemical basis for all
known life on earth, making graphene potentially an eco-friendly, sustainable solution for an
almost limitless number of applications. Since the discovery (or more accurately, the
mechanical obtainment) of graphene, applications within different scientific disciplines have
exploded, with huge gains being made particularly in high-frequency electronics, bio,
chemical and magnetic sensors, ultra-wide bandwidth photodetectors, and energy storage and
generation

1.1 Structure of Graphene

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1.2 WHAT IS GRAPHENE SUPERCAPACITOR?

A supercapacitor with graphene-based electrodes was found to exhibit a specific

energy density of 85.6 Wh/kg at room temperature and 136 Wh/kg at 80 °C (all based on the
total electrode weight), measured at a current density of 1 A/g. These energy density values
are comparable to that of the Ni metal hydride battery, but the supercapacitor can be charged
or discharged in seconds or minutes.

The key to success was the ability to make full utilisation of the highest intrinsic
surface capacitance and specific surface area of single-layer graphene by preparing curved
graphene sheets that will not restack face-to-face. The curved morphology enables the
formation of mesopores accessible to and wettable by environmentally benign ionic liquids
capable of operating at a voltage >4 V.

1.2 Current v/s Energy density graph of Graphene Supercapacitor

1.3 APPLICATIONS

Supercapacitors are being increasingly used as energy storage systems. Graphene,

with its huge specific surface area, superior mechanical flexibility and outstanding electrical
properties, constitutes an ideal candidate for the next generation of wearable, electric vehicles
and portable devices with enhanced performance.

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2 CAPACITORS

2.1 WHAT IS CAPACITOR?

capacitor, device for storing electrical energy, consisting of two conductors in close
proximity and insulated from each other. A simple example of such a storage device is the
parallel-plate capacitor. If positive charges with total charge +Q are deposited on one
of the conductors and an equal amount of negative charge −Q is
deposited on the second conductor, the capacitor is said to have a
charge Q. (See also electricity: Principle of the capacitor.)

Capacitors have many important applications. They are used, for example, in digital
circuits so that information stored in large computer memories is not lost during a momentary
electric power failure; the electric energy stored in such capacitors maintains the information
during the temporary loss of power. Capacitors play an even more important role as filters to
divert spurious electric signals and thereby prevent damage to sensitive components and
circuits caused by electric surges.

2.1 Parallel Plate Capacitor

2.2 PROBLEMS WITH CAPACITORS

Capacitance will vary up and down with temperature depending upon the dielectric.
This is caused by a change in the dielectric constant and an expansion or shrinking of the
dielectric material/electrodes itself. Changes in capacitance can be the result of excessive
clamping pressures on non-rigid enclosures. And in capacitors there are no charges available
once it is used means we cannot use the capacitor as a battery or energy storage device.

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3 SUPERCAPACITORS

3.1 WHAT IS SUPERCAPACITOR?

A supercapacitor is a type of capacitor that can store a large amount of energy,

typically 10 to 100 times more energy per unit mass or volume compared to electrolytic
capacitors. It is preferred to batteries owing to its faster and simpler charging, and faster
delivery of charge.

A supercapacitor is also known as an ultracapacitor or double-layer electrolytic

capacitor.A supercapacitor is similar to a capacitor except for the bigger area of its plates and
the smaller distance between these plates. The plates are metallic and are soaked in
electrolytes and are separated by a very thin insulator. An electric double layer is created in
the supercapacitor as opposite charges are formed on both sides of the separator when the
plates are charged. This results in a supercapacitor with greater capacitance. In other words,
the combination of plates and the larger effective surface area enables a supercapacitor to
have greater capacitance and higher energy density. Unlike a battery, a supercapacitor has an
unlimited life cycle, with little wear and tear on long-term use. Thus, it can be charged and
discharged an unlimited number of times.

A supercapacitor has many advantages. It can deliver high power and enable high
load currents owing to its low resistance. Its charging mechanism is simple and fast and is not
subject to overcharging. Compared to a battery, a supercapacitor has excellent high- and low-
temperature charge and discharge performance. It is also highly reliable and has low
impedance.

A supercapacitor has certain limitations including its high cost and the high self-
discharge involved. Moreover, unlike a regular battery, it has low specific energy and its use
of the full energy spectrum is hindered by linear discharge voltage.
Because of their properties, supercapacitors are used in many applications. They are widely
deployed to deliver power and bridge power gaps. They are a replacement for batteries in
certain settings such as in battery-free devices.

3.2 PROBLEMS WITH SUPERCAPACITORS

Energy densities of supercapacitors are not very high. At present, there is still a
certain gap between supercapacitors (<20 Wh kg−1) and batteries (30–200 Wh kg−1) in terms
of energy densities, how to improve the energy density is still the research focus and
difficulty in the field of supercapacitors.

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Improvement of manufacturing process and technology is an effective way to improve

the storage capacity of supercapacitors, but in the long run, it is essential and difficult to find
new electrolyte and electrode active materials with higher corresponding electrochemical
performance. Low energy density supercapacitors result in bulkier devices and hence they are
not compact. Energy densities of supercapacitors can be enhanced by increasing the effective
surface area of electrode materials in double layer capacitors or increasing the operation
voltage window or both. More and more research is going on to develop novel materials with
high surface area and using suitable organic electrolytes which can endure a larger voltage
window. If these expenses are properly addressed, energy densities of supercapacitors can
become comparable to batteries.

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4 BATTERIES

4.1 UNDERSTANDING BATTERIES

Batteries are a collection of one or more cells whose chemical reactions create a flow
of electrons in a circuit. All batteries are made up of three basic components: an anode (the '-'
side), a cathode (the '+' side), and some kind of electrolyte (a substance that chemically reacts
with the anode and cathode).

When the anode and cathode of a battery is connected to a circuit, a chemical reaction
takes place between the anode and the electrolyte. This reaction causes electrons to flow
through the circuit and back into the cathode where another chemical reaction takes place.
When the material in the cathode or anode is consumed or no longer able to be used in the
reaction, the battery is unable to produce electricity. At that point, your battery is "dead."
Batteries that must be thrown away after use are known as primary batteries. Batteries
that can be recharged are called secondary batteries.
Without batteries, your quadcopter would have to be tethered to the wall, you would
have to hand crank your car, and your Xbox controller would have to be plugged in all the
time (like in the good old days). Batteries offer a way to store electrical potential energy in a
portable container.

4.2 PROBLEMS WITH BATTERIES

Like an electrochemical battery, a capacitor is used to store energy. Some

electrochemical batteries can indeed be relatively efficient; however, charge time is still their
primary limiting factor for their usage as a replacement to fossil fuel in industrial and
commercial applications. High capacity batteries require more time for charging.
This is one of the reasons behind the slow adoption of electrically powered vehicles.

5 GRAPHENE SUPERCAPACITOR

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5.1 CONSTRUCTION

Supercapacitors are being increasingly used as energy

storage systems. Graphene, with its huge specific surface area,
superior mechanical flexibility and outstanding electrical
properties, constitutes an ideal candidate for the next generation
of wearable and portable devices with enhanced performance. Since
Stoller described the first graphene supercapacitor in 2008,
significant developments have been made during this last decade in
the development of new graphene-based electrodes. In this way,
the specific capacitance has been improved from 135 to 2585 F g−1
and the cyclability has been enhanced from a capacitance retention
of just over 80% after 1000 cycles to almost 100% after 20 000
cycles. This review describes how 3-dimensional porous graphene
electrodes have been improved recently, from using large area
processing techniques to microsupercapacitors. Specifically, (a)
the use of graphene foam to obtain large area electrodes, (b) the
development of the direct laser writing technique for fast, one-
step, and low-cost production of graphene-based supercapacitors,
(c) their miniaturisation in the form of integrated
microsupercapacitors and (d) their functionalization with
different pseudocapacitive and electric double-layer capacitor
materials to obtain higher capacitance values will be the topics
discussed in this perspective.

5.1 Graphene Supercapacitor Construction

5.2 WORKING

The key components of supercapacitors are electrodes, electrolyte, and separator.

Energy storage is associated with the build-up and separation of electric charge accumulated
in the electric double layer at the interface between the surface of an electrode and an
electrolyte. When an electrode (electrical conductor) is immersed into an electrolyte, there is

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a spontaneous organisation of charges which creates an EDL at the electrode/electrolyte

interface with one layer at the surface inside the electrode and the other layer in the
electrolyte.

This EDL behaves as a physical capacitor with the charges in the electrode and
electrolyte separated by a distance of the order of nanometers. The formation of EDL is
dependent on the structure of the electrode surface, composition of the electrolyte, and the
potential difference applied between the charges at the electrode/electrolyte interface . At the
electrode/electrolyte interface, the EDL forms and relaxes almost instantaneously . Thus, the
double layer responds rapidly to the potential changes. There is only a charge rearrangement
taking place in the process. The working voltage of the supercapacitor is determined by the
electrolyte decomposition voltage and is dependent on the current density, operational
temperature, and the required lifetime.

The characteristics of the electrode materials for supercapacitors include long-term

stability, high surface area, high cyclability, and resistance to electrochemical redox reactions
(Snyder et al., 2009). The separator acts as a spacer to prevent the opposing electrodes from
touching one another and causing a short circuit. Thus, a separator should be ionically
conductive but electrically insulating. The voltage window of a supercapacitor is dictated by
the operating pH and the thermodynamic stability of various species in the electrolyte.
Energy density and power density of the supercapacitor mainly depend on the voltage applied
and therefore the voltage window is very important.

5.3 SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

Like an electrochemical battery, a capacitor is used to store energy. Some

electrochemical batteries can indeed be relatively efficient; however, charge time is still their
primary limiting factor for their usage as a replacement to fossil fuel in industrial and
commercial applications. High capacity batteries require more time for charging.
This is one of the reasons behind the slow adoption of electrically powered vehicles. On the
other hand, the charging rate of capacitors is much higher, but they can store only less
energy.
Supercapacitors or ultracapacitors can hold a very large amount of electrical charge when
compared to standard capacitors. Hence, they are ideal to be used as a substitute for
electrochemical batteries in various commercial and industrial applications.

Supercapacitors can function in very low temperatures at which many types of

electrochemical batteries stop working. For these benefits, supercapacitors are already being
utilised in flashlights and emergency radios, where energy can be generated kinetically,
followed by subsequent storage in a supercapacitor for the device to utilise.
A traditional capacitor consists of two conductive material layers isolated by an insulator.
The amount of charge that can be held by a capacitor depends on the distance between the
two conductors, their surface area, and the dielectric constant of the insulator.

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On the other hand, supercapacitors do not consist of a solid insulator, but have two
conductive plates in a cell that are coated with a porous material, normally activated carbon.
The cells are submerged in an electrolyte solution.

The porous material will preferably have a very large surface area, thus enabling the
supercapacitor to achieve very high levels of charge because its capacitance is decided by the
surface area of the porous material as well as the distance between the two layers.
Although supercapacitors can store much higher energy when compared to standard
capacitors, they are not capable enough to withstand high voltage. Moreover, their production
cost is also on the higher side and their scalability in industry is currently narrowing the
application options because energy efficiency is negated against cost efficiency.

In a research paper, UCLA scientists demonstrated their ability to fabricate

supercapacitors from graphene through the use of a simple DVD LightScribe writer on a
home PC. This new technique employs a commercially available laser device instead of a
highly sophisticated atomic force microscope used in thermochemical nanolithography.
Although the relative surface area of activated carbon is much higher, graphene, a form of
carbon, has considerably more. If the relative surface area of a conductive material used in a
supercapacitor is much higher, then the material can more efficiently store electrostatic
charge. Moreover, graphene is lighter as it is made up of one single atomic layer.
Moreover, since graphene is actually just graphite, it is eco-friendly when compared to other
forms of energy storage. Another important factor to be considered is the efficiency of the
supercapacitor.

Researchers were able to fabricate supercapacitors that can store 150 F/g. However,
some have proposed that the theoretical upper limit for graphene-based supercapacitors is 550
F/g, which is a much higher value when compared to existing technology.

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6 CONCLUSION

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Supercapacitors are being increasingly used as energy

storage systems. Graphene, with its huge specific surface area,
superior mechanical flexibility and outstanding electrical
properties, constitutes an ideal candidate for the next generation
of wearable and portable devices with enhanced performance. Since
Stoller described the first graphene supercapacitor in 2008,
significant developments have been made during this last decade in
the development of new graphene-based electrodes. In this way,
the specific capacitance has been improved from 135 to 2585 F g−1
and the cyclability has been enhanced from a capacitance retention
of just over 80% after 1000 cycles to almost 100% after 20 000
cycles. This review describes how 3-dimensional porous graphene
electrodes have been improved recently, from using large area
processing techniques to microsupercapacitors. Specifically, (a)
the use of graphene foam to obtain large area electrodes, (b) the
development of the direct laser writing technique for fast, one-
step, and low-cost production of graphene-based supercapacitors,
(c) their miniaturisation in the form of integrated
microsupercapacitors and (d) their functionalization with
different pseudocapacitive and electric double-layer capacitor
materials to obtain higher capacitance values will be the topics
discussed in this perspective.

6.2 CONCLUSIONS

The adoption of advanced energy storage and recovery solutions is expected to

increase in the coming years if the energy density and efficiency of supercapacitors increase
and the production expenses decrease.

Although graphene-based supercapacitors will not be a practical solution until some

time in the future, it is necessary to advance the technology to achieve it.

6.3 FUTURE SCOPE

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Graphene's inherent mechanical strength and elastic properties coupled with

advantages of graphene based supercapacitors such as lightweight dimensions and minimal
production costs make the technology featuring these supercapacitors to be available within
the next five to ten years.

Moreover, graphene-based or hybrid supercapacitors will find use in a variety of

applications due to advances in energy storage limits for supercapacitors.
Supercapacitors are already being used in some vehicles and their usage in mobile telephones
and other mobile electronic devices is expected within the next few years.

The use of supercapacitors allows these electronic devices to be charged at a much

faster rate and last for a much longer time.

Other current and potential applications of supercapacitors are as power backup

supplies for industrial purposes or even for homes. Businesses can make investments in
power backup solutions which can store large amounts of energy at high voltages to offer
adequate power for production. The availability of a fuel cell vehicle that can store high
levels of electrical energy can be used to power homes in the occurrence of a power outage.

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REFERENCES

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2. Häggström, Fredrik; Delsing, Jerker (27 November 2018). "IoT Energy Storage - A
Forecast". Energy Harvesting and Systems.
3. Tehrani, Z.; Thomas, D.J.; Korochkina, T.; Phillips, C.O.; Lupo, D.; Lehtimäki, S.;
O'Mahony, J.; Gethin, D.T. (2 January 2017). "Large-area printed supercapacitor
technology for low-cost domestic green energy storage"
4. Bueno, Paulo R. (28 February 2019). "Nanoscale origins of super-capacitance
phenomena". Journal of Power Sources.
5. US 2800616, Becker, H.I., "Low voltage electrolytic capacitor"
6. Ho, J.; Jow, R.; Boggs, S. (January 2010). "Historical Introduction to Capacitor
Technology" (PDF). IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine.
7. A brief history of supercapacitors AUTUMN 2007 Batteries & Energy Storage
Technology Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
8. Rightmire, Robert A., "Electrical energy storage apparatus"
9. J. G. Schindall, The Change of the Ultra-Capacitors, IEEE Spectrum, November 2007
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12. "Elastic straining of free-standing monolayer graphene"

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