IIT Guwahati Engineers Make Strides with High-Performance Materials for Future Supercapacitors

Researchers at IIT Guwahati have pioneered materials and techniques that notably improve the performance metrics of supercapacitors. Check details here 

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have introduced innovative materials and methodologies that significantly improve the performance metrics of supercapacitors. Spearheaded by Prof. Uday Narayan Maiti from the Department of Physics at IIT Guwahati, the outcomes of this research have been published in the journal "Small" by Wiley-VCH. 

The team also comprises Dr. Pronoy Dutta, Mr. Sujit Kumar Deb, Ms. Amalika Patra, Golam Masud Karim, Dr. Abhisek Majumder, and Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer from IIT Guwahati, in addition to Dr. Pradip Kumar from CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Bhopal, and Dr. Narayanan Padma from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai.

What are Supercapacitors? 

Supercapacitors, much like batteries, function as energy storage devices. However, unlike batteries, which depend on chemical reactions, supercapacitors store energy by utilizing the electrostatic field-effectively separating charges. Recognized for their exceptional efficiency, supercapacitors can execute rapid charging and discharging cycles within seconds. 

They are instrumental in powering quick-charging devices like digital cameras and LED flashlights, boasting charging times as brief as 90 seconds. Their significance lies in applications necessitating bursts of power over short durations, such as defibrillators for heart stabilization and power stabilization in laptops.

Despite their exceptional energy storage properties, supercapacitors face challenges in widespread commercialization. For any supercapacitor technology to achieve commercial success, it must simultaneously meet three critical performance metrics:

• Gravimetric capacitance
• Volumetric capacitance
• Areal capacitance

Commenting on his research, Prof. Uday Narayan Maiti from the Department of Physics, IIT Guwahati, remarked, "These MXene-CNF-hydrogel-derived electrodes exhibit impressively high areal and volumetric capacitance with very high areal mass loading more than 70 mg/cm2. They maintain 96% of their capacitance after 20,000 charge-discharge cycles, showcasing robust long-term operational stability."

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