• Posted 02-Jun-2020

Water-based graphene ink to create the next generation of supercapacitors

Researchers in the Graphene Flagship are working on to develop the next generation of supercapacitors by creating a new formulation of water-based graphene ink.

The Graphene Flagship published an interview with Alexandr Talyzin who has studied graphene and related materials since 2007 and is collaborating with the Graphene Flagship since 2013. Recently, he started to explore new ways of producing water-based graphene inks for the preparation of supercapacitor electrodes. His goal is to integrate graphene and related materials into the next generation of supercapacitors and energy storage devices.

With his research team at the Umeå University, Alexandr Talyzin recently published a paper in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters on a new formulation for a water-based graphene ink, which not surprisingly generated significant media attention. Graphene has good conductivity, easily accessible hierarchical porosity and high surface area, both important characteristics for electrode materials. The main advantage of water-based graphene inks is that they are more environmentally friendly than those produced with organic solvents. These features make water-based graphene dispersions an ideal candidate in the process of manufacturing supercapacitor electrodes and a perfect response to the industrial needs of our times. The remaining challenge is to overcome the water repellent properties of graphene, but Alexandr Talyzin and his research team published very promising results regarding this in their paper.

Supercapacitors are already used in devices that needs a high amount of power over a short time, for instance in engine starters for electric cars as well as in kinetic energy recovery systems where supercapacitors make it possible to capture energy from a braking vehicle as it slows down. 

In comparison with batteries, supercapacitors are better for power peak demands, but their energy storage properties have to be improved in order to widen their application area. Talyzin and his colleagues hope that graphene and related materials can help to achieve a much better energy storage capacity in supercapacitors. Water-based graphene ink seems to be a promising component of a new supercapacitor electrode design.

With the support of the Graphene Flagship and the Umeå University Innovation Center, the research group have already filed a patent application of their dispersion preparation method and they are working on to convert their results and their designs into real industrial products.

Source: Digital Single Market (https://bit.ly/2MfCspz)