Energy Storage: Materials, Systems and Applications: Energy Storage for Transportation Applications III
Program Organizers: Zhenguo "Gary" Yang, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Terry Holesinger, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Xingbo Liu, West Virginia University; Chun Lu, Siemens Energy, Inc.

Wednesday 2:00 PM
October 19, 2011
Room: C223
Location: Greater Columbus Convention Center

Session Chair: Xiaochuan Lu, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

2:00 PM  Student
Synthesis of LiCoO2 Cathodes for Li–Ion Batteries via Solution Precursor Plasma Process : Raghavender Tummala¹; RAMESH K. GUDURU¹; PRAVANSU S. MOHANTY¹; ¹Univ of Michigan
    LiCoO2 is a well investigated cathode material for Li – ion batteries. It is usually synthesized via powder processing routes which are time consuming and expensive. Further, a polymeric binder is necessary to consolidate these powders into a cathode. We have developed an alternative single step plasma synthesis technique for nanostructured LiCoO2 using an inexpensive solution precursor, which circumvents the use of binders and multi-step procedures generally employed in the Li – ion battery electrode preparation. In this process, a solution precursor made of Li and Co salts, and distilled water is fed axially into a DC plasma jet for accelerated chemical reactions to form LiCoO2. Thus formed LiCoO2 particles are then propelled toward the current collector to consolidate the electrode layer. Phase formation of LiCoO2 was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Micrsotructural investigation revealed ultrafine particulate morphology within the deposited layer. The electrochemical characterization of these cathodes will be reported.

2:20 PM  Invited
Nanostructured Electrodes for High-Performance Supercapacitors : Min-Kyu Song¹; Shuang Cheng¹; Wentao Qin¹; Meilin Liu¹; ¹Georgia Institute of Technology
    Among many types of electrical energy storage systems, supercapacitors remain a promising option for many applications, from portable electronics to hybrid electric vehicles. Creation of nanostructured electrodes represents one of the most attractive strategies to dramatically enhance the performance, including capacity, rate capability, and cycling life. This presentation will start with a brief overview of the critical scientific challenges facing the development of high-performance supercapacitors, various unique attributes of nanostructures or nano-architectures applicable to supercapacitors, our recent findings in exploration of composite electrodes with controlled architecture to increase the energy density while maintaining their high rate capabilities and excellent cycling performance, and outlook for future-generation energy storage devices with significantly improved performance.

3:00 PM Break

3:20 PM
Development of Hybrid Supercapacitors for Portable Power Applications: Elvin Beach¹; Steven Risser¹; Megan Moore¹; Mark Stasik¹; Kevin Spahr¹; Brian Kaseman¹; ¹Battelle
    Cost-effective electrical storage is a critical need for enhancing current devices and enabling new devices and technologies. Battelle has been actively investigating novel supercapacitor devices fabricated from metal-oxide/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite electrode materials using earth-abundant chemistries and scalable manufacturing technologies. Specific capacitance of the electrodes in excess of 1500 F/g has been measured at scan rates of 20 mV/s. Both symmetric and asymmetric devices have been fabricated and tested during development of these materials. The power and energy densities of the asymmetric devices have been measured at greater than 10 kW/kg and 10Wh/kg, respectively. Examples of integrated devices built using Battelle’s hybrid supercapacitor materials are presented and work on integration of these devices into electronic circuits is also described.

3:40 PM
Optimization of Power and Energy Densities in Supercapacitors: David Robinson¹; ¹Sandia National Laboratories
    Supercapacitors use nanoporous electrodes to store large amounts of charge on their high surface areas, and use the ions in electrolytes to carry charge into the pores. Their high power density makes them a potentially useful complement to batteries. However, ion transport through long, narrow channels still limits power and efficiency in these devices. Proper design can mitigate this. Current collector geometry and electrolyte starvation must also be considered once this is done. Here, De Levie’s model for porous electrodes is applied to quantitatively predict device performance and to propose optimal device designs for given specifications. Recent progress in electrode fabrication technology may make optimal designs accessible. Steering fabrication efforts toward these designs should allow for significant performance improvements, expanding opportunities for applications in electric vehicles, portable electronics, and power conditioning in electrical grids with distributed renewable sources.

4:00 PM
Aniline Coated Carbon Cryogel with Improved Cyclic Stability for Supercapacitor Electrodes: Dawei Liu¹; ¹University of Washington