Research Projects

Supercapacitors are promising electrochemical energy storage devices due to their high power density, rapid charging/discharging rate, superior cycling stability, and wide operating temperature range. Porous carbon materials with high surface area are considered promising supercapacitor electrode materials due to their high capacity for charge accumulation at the electrode-electrolyte interface and favorable transport of electrolyte ions. Conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a potential candidate due to its excellent transparency, high conductivity, high-quality flexibility, electrochemical stability, and ease of processing. In recent times, different types of PEDOT-based electrodes, such as nanofibrillar/PEDOT, PEDOT paper, and stable PEDOT:PSS flexible films, have been fabricated and applied successfully onto supercapacitors. However, high-conductivity self-healing solid-state flexible supercapacitors based on PEDOT:PSS materials have rarely been covered. Transparent PEDOT electrodes with high electrical conductivity are urgently needed in supercapacitors. Incorporating POSS moieties into a polymeric material can dramatically improve its mechanical properties and reduce its flammability, heat evolution, thermal stability, and viscosity during processing. Graphene, a two-dimensional honeycomb structure, has been added to solid polymer electrolyte membranes of lithium ion cells to enhance dimensional stability and ionic conductivity. This proposal focuses on the novel synthesis of in-situ and ex-situ polymer (PEDOT:PSS) nanocomposites with different architectures. Nano-POSS materials (modified and unmodified) are proposed as dopants for supercapacitor (SC) electrode applications. The role of nano-POSS and gold coated porous nano silica as dopants will be explored.