Nanomaterial-functionalised carbons for next-generation supercapacitor electrodes

Lead Research Organisation: University College London
Department Name: Chemistry

Abstract

To effectively utilise intermittent sustainable energy sources, and to reduce the current over-capacity in energy generation systems, necessary to meet 'peak demand', we must develop efficient energy storage technologies. Supercapacitors will play a key role in the future flexible energy grid (as well as in automotive and personal electronics), due to their ability to quickly charge/discharge (enabling high power output) and their potentially lengthy lifespans. However, current technologies suffer from low energy densities (~ 5 W h kg-1), meaning very large devices must be constructed if high energy capacity is required (e.g. in cars/busses). This deficiency is partially due to the materials from which the electrodes are constructed, commonly activated or porous carbons, which have low conductivity, low packing density, and poor inter-particle interconnectivity.

The materials I will develop in this Fellowship will provide elegant and practical solutions to these problems. I will, for the first time, scalably nano-texture the surfaces of bulk carbons (e.g. activated carbons) with nanomaterials, improving their conductivity and connectivity, as well as efficiently increasing their surface area and introducing highly active pseudocapacitive materials. This will dramatically improve the energy storage performance of these materials. I will achieve this through the utilisation of liquids containing charged nanomaterials that can be manipulated onto the carbon surfaces using highly scalable, low-cost methods such as electrodeposition. Importantly, the deposition strategies will negate detrimental nanomaterial re-stacking and agglomeration, thus harnessing the beneficial properties of individualised nanomaterials.

This cross-disciplinary work will bring together three departments at University College London (UCL). It will exploit the wide-ranging synthetic and analytical facilities in Dept. of Chemistry, the pioneering facilities for the creation of charged nanomaterial solutions in the Dept. of Physics & Astronomy and the world-class electrochemical manufacture and testing equipment in the Electrochemical Innovation Lab. This combination makes UCL the ideal location for this work. These facilities will allow both electrochemical- and chemical-deposition of charged nanomaterials to be developed in parallel and optimised for nano-structures including carbon nanotubes, graphene and MoS2. By controllably depositing these materials I will be able to control the surface morphology and redox-activity of surfaces, and therefore create materials which can be tuned. These will be extensively tested in lab-scale supercapacitor devices and the most successful will be scaled to produce an industrial demonstrator with my industry partner. Through careful structural investigation of the hybrid-materials, and the electrodes they produce, using advanced microscopy, phase-contrast X-ray tomography and small-angle X-ray scattering techniques, I will elucidate their structure-performance relationships.

Planned Impact

This Fellowship will drive forward the industrial application of nanomaterials for energy applications by creating protocols by which they can be adhered onto a wide variety of surfaces, specifically targeting those for supercapacitor electrode materials. This will clearly have impact on UK manufacturers of supercapacitors, due to the improvements in capacitance, conductivity and energy density my advances will provide. This is especially applicable for my industrial partner (ZapGoCharger ltd.), who are keen to utilise my technological developments in their next-generation devices and exploit the inherent performance advances they will permit. More widely, my results will also have far reaching, multi-industry impact, for example, in the energy generation/storage sector more generally where a many applications require high surface area or redox-active electrodes e.g. fuel cells, batteries, and electrolysers. I will engage with these industries through my established academic and industrial connections. Overall this will mean it has the potential to influence the future of portable electronics, electric/fuel cell vehicles and grid-scale energy provision, which will concurrently produce real societal change. Additionally, the methods developed in this work will benefit a range of important industries (catalysis, composite materials, electrochemical sensors, anti-corrosion materials), as it will create high performance and durable materials that incorporate the multi-faceted benefits of advanced nanomaterials.

The potential economic impact of this work is highlighted by the fact that it encompasses two of the 'eight great technologies' (advanced materials and energy storage), which are areas the government believes can propel the UK to future growth and help it 'stay ahead in the global race'. The UK has a strong industrial position and skill base available to take full commercial advantage of the technological innovations I make. The result of successful commercialisation would be new job creation, financial rewards for those investing in the technology and societal improvements for the people of the UK and globally through the proliferation of sustainable energy provision. This economic impact will stem from my use-focused approach, developing methods and materials based on truly scalable processes and therefore providing an efficient road to technology transfer.

Further to its industrial and economic impact, I intend for this Fellowship to make an impact through my scheme of outreach and dissemination activities. For this I will develop interactive talks and demonstrations based on the science of energy storage, with the specific aim of interacting with school children across a range of ages. Teaching young people about methods for energy security and suitability is growing in importance as they will increasingly find themselves living in a 'low carbon' energy environment, which will utilise a wide range of different devices for energy generation and storage. It is my ambition to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists to help them solve the energy challenges we will all face in the future. I will also strive to engage the public more generally at science festivals and other events.

Thusly, this Fellowship has the potential to stimulate the economy, contribute to the drive for sustainable energy storage technologies and educate the community on why investment in these technologies is vital. These outcomes are highly achievable considering the wide-reaching scope of this work.

Publications

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Dizajghorbani-Aghdam H (2019) SERS-Active Cu Nanoparticles on Carbon Nitride Support Fabricated Using Pulsed Laser Ablation. in Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)

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Leach AS (2021) A novel fuel cell design foroperandoenergy-dispersive x-ray absorption measurements. in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal

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Lisowska K (2023) Amphoteric dissolution of two-dimensional polytriazine imide carbon nitrides in water in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences

 
Description People are extremely keen to utilise the advanced properties of two-dimensional materials in applications, but they are extremely difficult to manipulate into devices without losing the beneficial properties due to restacking and agglomeration.

Significant progress has now been made in developing methods to manipulate a range of 2D materials into/onto bulk surfaces through cross-linking and electrodeposition. Nanomaterial-nanomaterial linked bulk structures and nanomaterial- bulk carbon structures have been produced, processed into electrodes and tested as supercapacitors. Publication of these results is ongoing.

Other valuable ip has also been developed as part of this project, relating to the application of bulk carbons, which we are finding and protecting.

Tests for applications in energy storage are currently ongoing.
Exploitation Route In this award 2D material derived electrodes are be tested in supercapacitors, the developments made here will allow them to be manipulated into devices for a wide range of other applications including batteries, fuel cells, electrolysers, sensors and more.
Sectors Agriculture

Food and Drink

Chemicals

Energy

Environment

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology

Transport

 
Description I have been involved with, and led, numerous public-engagement and outreach initiatives. For adult audiences I have presented accessible talks both on the implications of my research (e.g. at the Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution, talk: The Chemistry of Sustainable Energy Storage - Batteries and Beyond) and training-oriented topics for continuing professional development (e.g. for teachers via PTI Education, talk: Redox in Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies). For university-age students I have hosted students in my lab for research projects and internships, whereas for secondary school students I have hosted and worked with 'work experience' students, who undertake research in Chemical Engineering and Physics & Astronomy labs at UCL, and then themselves undertake outreach activities at local primary schools. Finally, the majority of my outreach work has been with primary school children. Here I have both offered interactive career-oriented talks to enhance students' knowledge of research as a career (e.g. at Trinity Primary Academy, Wood Green), in-class scientific demonstrations and activities around the theme of clean energy (e.g. at Betty Layward Primary School, Stoke Newington) or visits to UCL teaching and research labs (e.g. for Elmhurst Primary School, Upton Park). To drive research impact and public understanding I have worked with both traditional and online media organisations to promote the importance of energy science and drive curiosity in academic research. To date I have appeared on 'Science in Action', broadcast on the BBC world service [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csvrgq] and BBC Radio 4's Inside Science [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09bxkf2] and provided expert interviews for articles in the Guardian https://tinyurl.com/ycmcnyvz) and on 'the Verge' (https://tinyurl.com/y9d9n3d5). I have also helped produce a Facebook video highlighting one of my publications that has been viewed ~500,000 times (https://tinyurl.com/ycktpdwf, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05lxm1x)
First Year Of Impact 2018
Sector Education
Impact Types Cultural

Societal

 
Description HySMART
Amount £631,868 (GBP)
Funding ID 10004529 
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2021 
End 03/2022
 
Description LiSTAR
Amount £9,966,425 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/S003053/1 LiSTAR project (FIRG014) 
Organisation The Faraday Institution 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2019 
End 09/2023
 
Description Nanoparticles collaboration - Italian institute of technology 
Organisation Italian Institute of Technology (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT)
Country Italy 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Two- way collaboration to test new, novel nanoparticles in electrochemical energy storage/generation technologies. The UCL team is undertaking the device integration and testing aspects, moving nanoparticles prepared via 'green' synthesis into real world technologies. This is building on the materials handling developments developed as part of this Fellowship.
Collaborator Contribution Two- way collaboration to test new, novel nanoparticles in electrochemical energy storage/generation technologies. Synthesis of novel nanoparticles via 'green' synthetic procedures.
Impact Two publications in preparation. Co-application for EU funding in progress
Start Year 2018
 
Description SECCM/EC-AFM collaboration - Tohoku university 
Organisation Tohoku University
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Formed a multi-angle research partnership with Prof. Akichika Kumatani (Tohoku University) exploring the electrochemistry of nanomaterials using scanning probe electrochemical microscopy. We make the nanomaterials and perform electrochemical AFM
Collaborator Contribution Traveled to the UK three times to work with us in developing appropriate surfaces for these tests. We are planning for UK students to spend time at Tohoku university in 2020. All SECCM measurements performed in Japan
Impact Successful application for student exchange funds from UCL Globel Engagement office - twice 2019 and 2020
Start Year 2019
 
Description Sensors collaboration - Manchester Metropolitan University 
Organisation Manchester Metropolitan University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Development of new materials for application in biosensors, based on the materials handling techniques developed in this Fellowship
Collaborator Contribution Testing of novel 2D materials derived electrodes for biosensor applications
Impact grant application to EPSRC in progress
Start Year 2019
 
Description Invited presentation - Bruker conference - Leeds UK - Tom Miller 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact An invited talk at an AFM focused conference where I discussed outcomes from LiSTAR. Leeds UK
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Invited presentation - ICYRAM2022 - Japan - Tom Miller 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact International conference invitation where I discussed research outcomes from LiSTAR with an international audience. Fukuoka Japan
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://icyram2022.wixsite.com/official-site
 
Description School visits - primary schools 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact School career day activity - three separate events, 2 classes per event. Discussed my career and how to access a job in science
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018,2019,2020