Development of storage and supplier device of electric power and methodology of dynamic analysis in operation mode

Abstract

This project proposes the development of storage device and electric power supplier as well as a methodology to study these devices in situ. The devices of major interest will be the supercapacitors, which have ideal characteristics to complement the batteries when it is desired to carry out fast processes of charge and discharge of electric energy. The capacitance of these devices affects energy and power storage and delivery and this capacitance is proportional to its electrochemically active area, which justifies studies of preparation of highly porous materials for greater storage and supply of energy. It is known that the electrodes are the heart of this type of device and among the most promising materials are the carbon based because they are excellent conductors, chemically active and stable in different electrolytes. Therefore, in this project will be developed these carbon nanomaterials in different alotropias (0D fullerenes, 1D carbon nanotubes, 2D graphene and 3D diamonds) on different types of collectors (Al, Cu, AISI, Nb, etc.). Such materials will undergo processes of functionalization by plasma (oxygen, ammonia, nitrogen etc), consolidating a wide range of electrodes. The characterization study of these materials will be carried out by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray excited photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission microscopy (TEM) (SEM) and atomic force (AFM). The device will be studied considering: (i) the thickness of carbon-based materials deposited on the electrode; (ii) the type of mesoporous membrane; (iii) the type of electrolyte; (iv) and the type of pseudocapacient component to be used. In the latter case, it will be studied how to marry the times between the faradáicos and non-faradáicos processes and the viability of a hybrid device. The device will be consolidated by encapsulating electrodes in different coin cell and pocket (pounch) electrochemical cell formats. For each type of cell there will be a comparative study of different types of electrolytes and the effect of temperature on them. In addition, an electrochemical cell will be developed to be studied under dynamic operating conditions (in situ) by Raman spectroscopy. These studies aim at a better understanding of the process of formation of the double electric layer of supercapacitors and to identify changes of physical-chemical nature in their interfaces during their operation. At the end is expected a very in-depth view on the operation of these devices as well as the consolidation of some types of prototypes for different applications. (AU)