Artist's impression of graphene sheets used to construct thin flexible capacitors.Reliable high-capacity energy storage is one of the major challenges we face in developing new electrical technology. From long-range electric cars to backups for variable-output alternative energy sources such as wind turbines, the need for inexpensive energy storageboth long- and short-termwill only increase. While chemical batteries are the primary way this is accomplished today, capacitors are also very common, although current models are hampered by their inability to store a lot energy without being prohibitively large in size.
A new type of electrochemical capacitor based on graphene promises to break those limitations. As described in a Science paper by Maher F. El-Kady, Veronica Strong, Sergey Dubin, and Richard B. Kaner, these "supercapacitors" are capable of holding a lot of charge on a relatively small surface area and are robust under stress. In addition, the researchers constructed their capacitor using an ordinary DVD writer to reduce a graphite oxide film into graphene, demonstrating how simple manufacturing would be. The electrochemical graphene capacitor is a potential prototype for a new class of flexible electronic devices with high power capabilities.
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Lees verder: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/0...-capacitors.ars
Bron: Arstechnica
