What is angstrom?
angstrom
the project
Current rechargeable energy storage devices have drawbacks like raw material availability, lifespan, cost, and safety. Supercapacitors offer fast discharge and long lifespans, are promising for future energy storage. However, they must overcome challenges in electrode design, stability, energy density, and industry standards.
ANGSTROM proposes an eco-friendly, plasma-enabled approach to develop advanced supercapacitor materials, including vertical nanocarbons and porous active materials like covalent organic frameworks or a la carte porous metal oxides.
The multidisciplinary methodology and unique expertise aim to surpass current supercapacitors with superior storage, high energy density, and reusability potential.
OBJECTIVES
Large-scale growth and structural optimization of multifunctional hybrid electrodes for advanced supercapacitor applications.
These hybrid electrodes will combine Vertical Nanocarbons, with porous active materials (covalent organic frameworks and conformal metal oxides).
Address the low energy density of supercapacitor-based storage devices compared to current conventional batteries.
O1.
Optimize the architecture of nanocarbons
O4.
Design multifunctional hybrid Nanocarbon/Porous Active Material nanoarchitectures.
02.
A green soft chemistry approach for designing covalent organic frameworks
O5.
Demonstrate a high energy density Nanocarbon/Porous Active Material supercapacitor.
O3.
Development of a plasma-based approach to synthesize a la carte conformal metal oxides with tuneable porosity
O6.
Unravel the electrochemical kinetics and charge storage mechanism by means of operando spectroscopic techniques.
APPROACH
ANGSTROM aims to scale up and optimize hybrid electrodes for advanced supercapacitors by combining two types of materials:
a) Carbon-based materials like vertical graphene and vertical carbon nanotubes (Vertical Nanocarbons, VN), are gaining importance in energy storage due to their high aspect ratio and open structure, enabling efficient electrolyte penetration.
b-c) Functionalizing carbon materials with porous active materials (PAM) to enhance the supercapacitor performance.
Two types of PAM will be developed:
b) Covalent organic frameworks (COF) offer high surface area and abundant redox-active sites.
c) Conformal porous metal oxides (c) offer high surface area, controllable porosity, stability, and enhanced electrochemical properties.
Nanoengineering of carbons and porous active materials, plus designing their functional hybrids using a green and economic plasma-enabled approach can address synthesis and performance challenges.
Critically, the technology proposed in ANGSTROM is one of the easy, fast, safe, and environmentally friendly techniques for synthesizing and processing high-quality nanostructures.