Graphene Super Capacitors  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2014, 07:56:57 pm
content: Pursuing my research into Graphene and Graphene Super Capacitors I came across a couple interesting articles on printing super capacitors using a DVD writer with LaserScribe. Basically, coating a plastic or glass substrate with a carbon based material or graphite to make/print graphene super capacitors. From what I have read, this technology could replace batteries and allow ultra fast charging and be environmentally friendly at the same time. Now I know this is nothing new, graphene has been known and used for quite some time but I have recently spent more time researching these topics.Has anyone here done any experiments with this or working on any projects along these lines? If so, I would like to know a bit more about the pros and cons of these processes.Thanks!

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 04:40:06 am
content: I personaly have not but as you are aware its an emerging technology. We are just seeing it in its infancy. Like semiconductors in the late 40's we are aware of them and can kinda get them to do some things, but there is no infrastructure to implement commercialization yet. No book of working knowledge to go to. Things need to be distilled down to cookbook form before application engineers can figure out what to do with it and process engineers can figure out how to make them by the zillions cheaply. The numbers are there. We know what the potential is. Much like the physicists in the late 30's knew the bomb was possible and how it would work. They just had no way to actualize it and were uncertain of the exact power yield, but as they progressed down the obvious road whole new areas of research were discovered, or invented. The same will happen with graphene.

author: Conrad Hoffman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 05:08:18 am
content: I'm curious about the theoretical numbers. It would seem there's some maximum density vs voltage limit. Certainly great things can be accomplished, but storing energy as an electric field doesn't seem to be competitive with the chemical reactions batteries are based on, except as a more short term device like the ones they use in some commercial buses.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 06:03:15 am
content: The theoretical advantage is in the monoatomic layer nature of them. Figure out a process where millions of them can be stacked in something as thick as a business card and you have something.Realistically we are 10 years away from fringe niche uses for them. Much like solar panels were in the 60's but by the early 80's calculators everywhere had them for practically free!

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 08:05:54 am
content: For a cap you would need a very thin insulator, right?Graphene is a very thin conductor...I guess you could grow graphene on thin plastic film and wrap it up but the advantage over metallized would probably be minor. And the low thickness and high conductivity might actually be a problem here because a graphene flake might easily short out two layers, it is very thin so it's not like it will stay still if it comes loose (compared to um-sized dust).

author: Terabyte2007
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 06:11:41 pm
content: Here is a very good lecture on Graphene. Enjoy!http://youtu.be/VHECQD3DVYE

author: scientist
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2014, 07:27:44 pm
content: A more accurate description of the Lightscribe process is stabilizing a solution of carbon into a bunch of stacked sheets of graphene.There is also an important distinction between capacitors and supercapacitors; supercaps behave more like batteries, releasing charge slowly over time.