Nanotechnology – Young-Hee Lee, Kay-hyeok An, Jae-eun Yoo, Iljin Nanotech Co Ltd

Search Patent for “Supercapacitor with electrode of new material and manufacturing method”

Abstract for “Supercapacitor with electrode of new material and manufacturing method”

“A supercapacitor is made from an electrode made of a new material” The supercapacitor consists of two electrodes that face each other. They are made from carbon nanotubes. There is an electrolyte between them and a separator to separate the electrolyte.

Background for “Supercapacitor with electrode of new material and manufacturing method”

“1. “1.

“The invention is directed to a capacitor device and, more specifically, to a supercapacitor made of new material with high power and high capacitance.”

“2. “2.

“Batteries are used to store energy for portable electronic equipment, electric cars and other systems that require an independent power supply unit. These units can also be used to adjust the supply or overload of energy instantly. There are many ways to use capacitors instead of batteries to increase the input and output characteristics of stored electricity in terms, for example, electric power.

Capacitors are more efficient than batteries in storing electric energy and can be reused much more often than batteries, which are typically used 500 times. Condensers are representative conventional capacitors. Their capacitance is on the order of?F and pF. This makes them very restrictive. Supercapacitors, such as electrochemical capacitors with capacitances exceeding several tens or more of F and still retaining the benefits of existing capacitors, have been created by new materials since the 1990s. Supercapacitors include electrochemical capacitors as well as electric double-layer capacitors and ultracapacitors.

To increase energy storage volume, or capacitance, such a supercapacitor uses activated carbon electrodes or activated fiber electrodes with a surface area of approximately 1000-2000m2/g. A capacitor made from activated carbon or activated fiber has a capacitance per area of approximately 10-15?F/cm2.

“Supercapacitors have a energy density of approximately 1-10 Wh/kg. This is one tenth the energy density for secondary cells, which ranges from 20-100 Wh/kg to about 1-100 Wh/kg. The energy density is the energy storage volume per gram. Supercapacitors, however, have a power density of 1000-2000 W/kg. This is ten times greater than secondary cells’ power densities of 50-200W/kg. The power density is the amount of accumulated electricity that can be supplied in a given time. Supercapacitors can be used to store electric energy or as load controllers, replacing secondary cells. This expectation can be met by increasing the supercapacitors’ capacitance to secondary cell levels.

“Activated carbon or activated carb fiber has a large specific surface, as mentioned above. However, the pores of activated carbon have a diameter 20? Or less, so that ions can’t easily get into the pores. Supercapacitors that are made of activated carbon, activated carbon fiber or an electrode with activated carbon have a limit on their ability to increase capacitance.

“To solve these problems, it is the object of the present invention that a supercapacitor be provided using an electrode made of a new material. The supercapacitor will have a higher capacitance.”

“Accordingly, a supercapacitor is provided with two electrodes facing eachother, made of carbon nanotubes. An electrolyte is placed between the electrodes and a separator separates the electrolyte from the two electrodes.

The carbon nanotubes are mixed with a bonding agent and molded into a pattern. The carbon nanotubes can be either single-wall or multiwall. Alternately, each electrode is made of carbon nanotubes that have been vertically grown on their respective collectors.

“The carbon nanotubes can be activated with a solution of potassium hydroxide. Alternately, carbon nanotubes can be electroless plated with nickel or Raney nickel applied to them.

“According the present invention, it is possible to provide a supercapacitor with high capacitance and low internal resistance.”

“The following description will detail an embodiment of the invention with reference to the attached illustration. The invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Many variations are possible within its scope and spirit. To better explain the invention to those skilled in the art, the embodiment of the invention has been provided. The shapes of the members in the drawing are exaggerated to increase clarity.

An electrode made of carbon nanotubes can be used as an electrode for a supercapacitor in an embodiment of the invention. The specific surface of carbon nanotubes is approximately one tenth to one twentieth that of activated Carbon or activated Carbon fiber. However, they can provide very high capacitance per unit surface and low internal resistance for supercapacitors. This allows carbon nanotubes to be used in the manufacture of high-performance supercapacitors.

“FIG. “FIG. Referring to FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, the supercapacitor comprises electrodes 100 made of carbon nanotubes and a separator 200. The electrolyte 300 is also included.”

An electrolyte that is used in supercapacitors can be used to make the electrolyte 300. As the separator 200, a separating material that is used in supercapacitors can also be used. Separator 200 allows for the separation of electrolyte 300 from the electrodes 100, but also allows for the exchange of charge between them 100.

“Each electrode 100 is made of carbon nanotubes. Each electrode 100 can have a collector 400 of conductive material. Carbon nanotube electrodes 100 are made by molding carbon nanotubes with a bonding agent in a pallet pattern. To put it another way, carbon nanotubes can be molded into a pallet to serve as the electrodes 100. Single-wall carbon nanotubes are possible in this instance. Here, a polymer resin such as a polyvinylalcohol resin, a polytetrafluoroethylene resin, a phenolic resin or a carboxylmethyl cellulose resin is used as the bonding agent.”

The carbon nanotube electrodes 100 are attached to the collectors 400 in a pallet-like pattern. This creates a supercapacitor. Although collectors 400 can be made of many conductive materials, they are preferred to be made of metal.

“Once current is applied to electrodes 100 of supercapacitors, the electrolyte 300 separates the ions into anions (?). and cations (+),, which are then transferred to the respective electrodes 100. The potentials of 100 the electrodes change accordingly from?0 to?0+/1 and??0?. The potentials of the two electrodes 100 change from?0 into?0+?1 and???, respectively, and electric power is stored.”

“A supercapacitor such as the one described above has high specific capacitance because of the structural characteristics carbon nanotubes that make up the electrodes 100. A 7.5 N potassium hydroxide aqueous solution (KOH), was used to create the electrolyte 300. It was found that the specific capacitance for a supercapacitor of the invention was about 130 F/g. An organic electrolyte made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate (acetonitrile) was also used. A supercapacitor according the embodiment of this invention had a specific capacitance around 100 F/g. The electrolyte 300 was supplied with a current of 10 mA/cm2 and an operating voltage of 0.9 V for a 7.5 NOH aqueous solution and 2.3 V for an organic electrolyte. This electrolyte was created by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate and acetonitrile.

Instead of making carbon nanotube electrodes 100 from single-wall carbon nanotubes with a bonding agent and forming a pallet pattern (as described above), carbon nanotubes can instead be grown directly on the collectors to make carbon nanotubes electrodes 100. Carbon nanotubes can also be grown vertically on a metal substrate (not illustrated) by using either a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition or thermal chemical deposition methods. Vertically grown carbon nanotubes are suitable for use as an electrode 100. The metal substrate can be used spontaneously as a collector 400. The method of growing carbon nanotubes directly on a metal substrate can be used to create a collector 400. This eliminates the need to mold carbon nanotubes into a pattern that is suitable for their particular shape. The contact resistance between the collector 400 and the corresponding carbon nanotube 100 can be significantly reduced because carbon nanotubes can be grown directly on a metal substrate. A carbon nanotube can then be made as a single-wall or multi-wall carbon tube.

“A supercapacitor made from 100 electrodes of carbon nanotubes vertically grown had a specific capacitance of approximately 100 F/g when electrolyte 300 was 7.5 N KOH water. The supercapacitor also had a specific capacitance of 70 F/g when an organic electrolyte was made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate (acetonitrile) and 300. The electrolyte 300 was supplied with a current of 10 mA/cm2 and an operating voltage of 0.9 V for a 7.5 NOH aqueous solution and 2.3 V for an organic electrolyte. This electrolyte was created by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate and acetonitrile.

“When carbon nanotubes have been shaped or grown, they can be made more specific by applying a variety of treatments to their surface. This can increase the supercapacitor’s capacitance. These treatments should be performed directly on carbon nanotubes, before they are shaped into pallet patterns. If carbon nanotubes are grown directly on the 300-corresponding collector, these treatments should be performed on the carbon nanotubes once they have been grown on the 300-corresponding collector 300.

“Activated carbon nanotubes showed significantly increased specific surfaces. A supercapacitor using carbon nanotube electrodes 100 also had a significant increase in capacitance. Carbon nanotubes activated by submerging them in 1 mole of KOH solution were found to have a specific surface of about 250 m2/g compared to 140m2/g prior to activation. The supercapacitor was able to generate a capacitance of 200 F/g using an electrode made by molding activated carbon nanotubes into a palette pattern. A 7.5 N KOH solution was used for the electrolyte 300. The capacitance of a supercapacitor using an organic electrolyte was approximately 160 F/g when it was made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium Tetrafluoroborate into acetonitrile.

“Also, carbon nanotubes activated by dipping them into 5 mols KOH solution increased the specific surface to 500 m2/g. A supercapacitor with an electrode made of activated carbon nanotubes had a capacitance of 400 F/g, when electrolyte 300 was 7.5 N KOH. The capacitance of a supercapacitor using an organic electrolyte made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium Tetrafluoroborate into acetonitrile, was 300 F/g.

“The above results show that supercapacitors with electrodes 100 made of carbon nanotubes activated by KOH solutions have a significantly higher capacitance.”

According to the embodiment of this invention, a supercapacitor can have a significantly higher capacitance and lower internal resistance. These advantages include fast charging, high charging/discharging efficiency at least 95%, large reuses (at most one hundred thousand), and a large power density that a secondary cells does not have. These results also indicate that the supercapacitor of the present invention could be used as an energy storage unit such as a secondary or fuel cell, which can then be used as a main component, or energy storage device with a load control function, of an electric vehicle. A supercapacitor of the present invention could be substituted for a secondary battery in an electric hybrid vehicle with a small internal combustion engine.

Summary for “Supercapacitor with electrode of new material and manufacturing method”

“1. “1.

“The invention is directed to a capacitor device and, more specifically, to a supercapacitor made of new material with high power and high capacitance.”

“2. “2.

“Batteries are used to store energy for portable electronic equipment, electric cars and other systems that require an independent power supply unit. These units can also be used to adjust the supply or overload of energy instantly. There are many ways to use capacitors instead of batteries to increase the input and output characteristics of stored electricity in terms, for example, electric power.

Capacitors are more efficient than batteries in storing electric energy and can be reused much more often than batteries, which are typically used 500 times. Condensers are representative conventional capacitors. Their capacitance is on the order of?F and pF. This makes them very restrictive. Supercapacitors, such as electrochemical capacitors with capacitances exceeding several tens or more of F and still retaining the benefits of existing capacitors, have been created by new materials since the 1990s. Supercapacitors include electrochemical capacitors as well as electric double-layer capacitors and ultracapacitors.

To increase energy storage volume, or capacitance, such a supercapacitor uses activated carbon electrodes or activated fiber electrodes with a surface area of approximately 1000-2000m2/g. A capacitor made from activated carbon or activated fiber has a capacitance per area of approximately 10-15?F/cm2.

“Supercapacitors have a energy density of approximately 1-10 Wh/kg. This is one tenth the energy density for secondary cells, which ranges from 20-100 Wh/kg to about 1-100 Wh/kg. The energy density is the energy storage volume per gram. Supercapacitors, however, have a power density of 1000-2000 W/kg. This is ten times greater than secondary cells’ power densities of 50-200W/kg. The power density is the amount of accumulated electricity that can be supplied in a given time. Supercapacitors can be used to store electric energy or as load controllers, replacing secondary cells. This expectation can be met by increasing the supercapacitors’ capacitance to secondary cell levels.

“Activated carbon or activated carb fiber has a large specific surface, as mentioned above. However, the pores of activated carbon have a diameter 20? Or less, so that ions can’t easily get into the pores. Supercapacitors that are made of activated carbon, activated carbon fiber or an electrode with activated carbon have a limit on their ability to increase capacitance.

“To solve these problems, it is the object of the present invention that a supercapacitor be provided using an electrode made of a new material. The supercapacitor will have a higher capacitance.”

“Accordingly, a supercapacitor is provided with two electrodes facing eachother, made of carbon nanotubes. An electrolyte is placed between the electrodes and a separator separates the electrolyte from the two electrodes.

The carbon nanotubes are mixed with a bonding agent and molded into a pattern. The carbon nanotubes can be either single-wall or multiwall. Alternately, each electrode is made of carbon nanotubes that have been vertically grown on their respective collectors.

“The carbon nanotubes can be activated with a solution of potassium hydroxide. Alternately, carbon nanotubes can be electroless plated with nickel or Raney nickel applied to them.

“According the present invention, it is possible to provide a supercapacitor with high capacitance and low internal resistance.”

“The following description will detail an embodiment of the invention with reference to the attached illustration. The invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Many variations are possible within its scope and spirit. To better explain the invention to those skilled in the art, the embodiment of the invention has been provided. The shapes of the members in the drawing are exaggerated to increase clarity.

An electrode made of carbon nanotubes can be used as an electrode for a supercapacitor in an embodiment of the invention. The specific surface of carbon nanotubes is approximately one tenth to one twentieth that of activated Carbon or activated Carbon fiber. However, they can provide very high capacitance per unit surface and low internal resistance for supercapacitors. This allows carbon nanotubes to be used in the manufacture of high-performance supercapacitors.

“FIG. “FIG. Referring to FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, the supercapacitor comprises electrodes 100 made of carbon nanotubes and a separator 200. The electrolyte 300 is also included.”

An electrolyte that is used in supercapacitors can be used to make the electrolyte 300. As the separator 200, a separating material that is used in supercapacitors can also be used. Separator 200 allows for the separation of electrolyte 300 from the electrodes 100, but also allows for the exchange of charge between them 100.

“Each electrode 100 is made of carbon nanotubes. Each electrode 100 can have a collector 400 of conductive material. Carbon nanotube electrodes 100 are made by molding carbon nanotubes with a bonding agent in a pallet pattern. To put it another way, carbon nanotubes can be molded into a pallet to serve as the electrodes 100. Single-wall carbon nanotubes are possible in this instance. Here, a polymer resin such as a polyvinylalcohol resin, a polytetrafluoroethylene resin, a phenolic resin or a carboxylmethyl cellulose resin is used as the bonding agent.”

The carbon nanotube electrodes 100 are attached to the collectors 400 in a pallet-like pattern. This creates a supercapacitor. Although collectors 400 can be made of many conductive materials, they are preferred to be made of metal.

“Once current is applied to electrodes 100 of supercapacitors, the electrolyte 300 separates the ions into anions (?). and cations (+),, which are then transferred to the respective electrodes 100. The potentials of 100 the electrodes change accordingly from?0 to?0+/1 and??0?. The potentials of the two electrodes 100 change from?0 into?0+?1 and???, respectively, and electric power is stored.”

“A supercapacitor such as the one described above has high specific capacitance because of the structural characteristics carbon nanotubes that make up the electrodes 100. A 7.5 N potassium hydroxide aqueous solution (KOH), was used to create the electrolyte 300. It was found that the specific capacitance for a supercapacitor of the invention was about 130 F/g. An organic electrolyte made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate (acetonitrile) was also used. A supercapacitor according the embodiment of this invention had a specific capacitance around 100 F/g. The electrolyte 300 was supplied with a current of 10 mA/cm2 and an operating voltage of 0.9 V for a 7.5 NOH aqueous solution and 2.3 V for an organic electrolyte. This electrolyte was created by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate and acetonitrile.

Instead of making carbon nanotube electrodes 100 from single-wall carbon nanotubes with a bonding agent and forming a pallet pattern (as described above), carbon nanotubes can instead be grown directly on the collectors to make carbon nanotubes electrodes 100. Carbon nanotubes can also be grown vertically on a metal substrate (not illustrated) by using either a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition or thermal chemical deposition methods. Vertically grown carbon nanotubes are suitable for use as an electrode 100. The metal substrate can be used spontaneously as a collector 400. The method of growing carbon nanotubes directly on a metal substrate can be used to create a collector 400. This eliminates the need to mold carbon nanotubes into a pattern that is suitable for their particular shape. The contact resistance between the collector 400 and the corresponding carbon nanotube 100 can be significantly reduced because carbon nanotubes can be grown directly on a metal substrate. A carbon nanotube can then be made as a single-wall or multi-wall carbon tube.

“A supercapacitor made from 100 electrodes of carbon nanotubes vertically grown had a specific capacitance of approximately 100 F/g when electrolyte 300 was 7.5 N KOH water. The supercapacitor also had a specific capacitance of 70 F/g when an organic electrolyte was made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate (acetonitrile) and 300. The electrolyte 300 was supplied with a current of 10 mA/cm2 and an operating voltage of 0.9 V for a 7.5 NOH aqueous solution and 2.3 V for an organic electrolyte. This electrolyte was created by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium trifluoroborate and acetonitrile.

“When carbon nanotubes have been shaped or grown, they can be made more specific by applying a variety of treatments to their surface. This can increase the supercapacitor’s capacitance. These treatments should be performed directly on carbon nanotubes, before they are shaped into pallet patterns. If carbon nanotubes are grown directly on the 300-corresponding collector, these treatments should be performed on the carbon nanotubes once they have been grown on the 300-corresponding collector 300.

“Activated carbon nanotubes showed significantly increased specific surfaces. A supercapacitor using carbon nanotube electrodes 100 also had a significant increase in capacitance. Carbon nanotubes activated by submerging them in 1 mole of KOH solution were found to have a specific surface of about 250 m2/g compared to 140m2/g prior to activation. The supercapacitor was able to generate a capacitance of 200 F/g using an electrode made by molding activated carbon nanotubes into a palette pattern. A 7.5 N KOH solution was used for the electrolyte 300. The capacitance of a supercapacitor using an organic electrolyte was approximately 160 F/g when it was made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium Tetrafluoroborate into acetonitrile.

“Also, carbon nanotubes activated by dipping them into 5 mols KOH solution increased the specific surface to 500 m2/g. A supercapacitor with an electrode made of activated carbon nanotubes had a capacitance of 400 F/g, when electrolyte 300 was 7.5 N KOH. The capacitance of a supercapacitor using an organic electrolyte made by dissolving 1 mole of tetraethylamonium Tetrafluoroborate into acetonitrile, was 300 F/g.

“The above results show that supercapacitors with electrodes 100 made of carbon nanotubes activated by KOH solutions have a significantly higher capacitance.”

According to the embodiment of this invention, a supercapacitor can have a significantly higher capacitance and lower internal resistance. These advantages include fast charging, high charging/discharging efficiency at least 95%, large reuses (at most one hundred thousand), and a large power density that a secondary cells does not have. These results also indicate that the supercapacitor of the present invention could be used as an energy storage unit such as a secondary or fuel cell, which can then be used as a main component, or energy storage device with a load control function, of an electric vehicle. A supercapacitor of the present invention could be substituted for a secondary battery in an electric hybrid vehicle with a small internal combustion engine.

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