American-Association-for-the-Advancement-of-Science
Credit: The American Association for the Advancement of Science

In a battery system, electrodes containing porous graphene scaffolding offer a substantial improvement in both the retention and transport of energy, a new study reveals.

Usually, techniques to improve the density of stored charge conflict with those that aim to improve the speed at which ions can move through a material.

Nanostructured materials have shown extraordinary promise for electrochemical energy storage, but these materials are usually limited to laboratory cells with ultrathin electrodes and very low mass loadings.

Hongtao Sun et al. overcome this obstacle by incorporating holey graphene into a niobium pentoxide electrode.

The nanopores facilitate rapid ion transport. By “fine-tuning” the size of the nanopores, the researchers were able to achieve high mass loading and improved power capability, while still maintaining the higher charge transport.

In a related Perspective, Hui-Ming Cheng and Feng Li write, “An unprecedented combination of high areal capacity and current density at practical mass loadings (10 to 20 mg cm-2) marks a critical step toward the use of high-performance electrode materials in commercial cells.”

Reference(s):
1. Publication: Hongtao Sun, Lin Mei, Junfei Liang, Zipeng Zhao, Chain Lee, Huilong Fei, Mengning Ding, Jonathan Lau, Mufan Li, Chen Wang, Xu Xu, Guolin Hao, Benjamin Papandrea, Imran Shakir, Bruce Dunn, Yu Huang, Xiangfeng Duan. Three-dimensional holey-graphene/niobia composite architectures for ultrahigh-rate energy storage. Science, 2017
2. Research story: American Association for the Advancement of Science | May 11, 2017 (source)

Editorial Team
The Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with data and insights to deliver useful news updates. We are experts with the mission to inform, educate and inspire the industry. We are passionately curious, enthusiastic, and motivated to positively impact the world. Send us a tip via hello @ pvbuzz [dot] com.

Germany’s SolarWorld files for Insolvency due to ‘Ongoing Price Erosion’

Previous article

This week’s trending solar stories—May 12th, 2017

Next article

You may also like

Comments

Comments are closed.