Powerful graphene hybrid material create highly efficient supercapacitors

A team working with Roland Fischer, Professor of Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry at the Technical University Munich has created a extremely efficient supercapacitor. The basis of the energy storage device is a novel, powerful and also sustainable graphene hybrid material that has similar performance data to currently employed batteries.

Unlike batteries they can swiftly store considerable amounts of energy and put it out just as fast. If, for instance, a train brakes when coming into a station, supercapacitors are storing the energy and deliver it again when the train requires a lot of energy very quickly while starting up.

The team working with TUM chemist Roland Fischer has now created a novel, powerful as well as sustainable graphene hybrid material for supercapacitors. It acts as the positive electrode in the energy storage device. The researchers are incorporating it with a proven negative electrode based on titan and carbon.

The new energy storage device does not only achieve an energy density of up to 73Wh/kg, which is approximately equivalent to the energy density of a nickel metal hydride battery, but also performs far better than most other supercapacitors at a power density of 16kW/kg. The secret of the new supercapacitor is the blend of different materials – hence, chemists refer to the supercapacitor as "asymmetrical."

"Our team also networked with electro-chemistry and battery research experts in Barcelona as well as graphene derivate experts from the Czech Republic," reports Fischer. "Furthermore, we have integrated partners from the USA and Australia. This wonderful, international co-operation promises much for the future."