The explosion of mobile electronic devices, electric vehicles, drones and other technologies have driven demand for new lightweight materials that can provide the power to operate them.
The explosion of mobile electronic devices, electric vehicles, drones and other technologies have driven demand for new lightweight materials that can provide the power to operate them. Researchers from the University of Houston and Texas A&M University have reported a structural supercapacitor electrode made from reduced graphene oxide and aramid nanofiber that is stronger and more versatile than conventional carbon-based electrodes.
The UH research team also demonstrated that modeling based on the material nanoarchitecture can provide a more accurate understanding of ion diffusion and related properties in the composite electrodes than the traditional modeling method, which is known as the porous media model.
“We are proposing that these models based on the nanoarchitecture of the material are more comprehensive, detailed, informative and accurate compared to the porous media model,” said Haleh Ardebili, Bill D. Cook Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UH and corresponding author for a paper describing the work, published in ACS Nano.
More accurate modeling methods will help researchers find new and more effective nanoarchitectured materials that can provide longer battery life and higher energy at a lighter weight, she said.
Read more at University of Houston
Image: Haleh Ardebili, Bill D. Cook Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston, led work demonstrated that modeling based on the material nanoarchitecture can provide a more accurate understanding of ion diffusion and other properties in composite electrodes. (Credit: University of Houston)
