Advanced laser deposition of nanocarbon-based supercapacitor electrodes

Abstract

Supercapacitors or electrochemical capacitors are devices capable to store and release energy in a short time, being crucial for high power electric systems. The development of supercapacitors with higher capability to store energy is key for the advance to a sustainable electrified society. Thus, new high-performance electrode materials as well as innovative fabrication technologies need to be developed. The research of this thesis is focused on the synthesis of composite electrodes constituted by carbon-based materials decorated with metal oxide nanostructures. The fabrication was performed through the reactive inverse matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIMAPLE) technique, a single-step laser deposition technique with high potential for the synthesis of complex nanocomposites. Multicomponent electrodes based on reduced graphene oxide, multiwall carbon nanotubes and nickel oxides nanoparticles were produced. The nitrogen-doping of the carbon nanomaterials was accomplished by using different precursors, leading to an enhancement of the performance of the electrodes. Furthermore, the alternative use of different types of nanoparticles was tested. Electrodes composed of carbon-based materials decorated with cerium oxide nanostructures disclosed promising performance. Different synthesis paths were followed for their improvement, obtaining synergistic effects with the co-synthesis of manganese oxide nanostructures. Functional devices were also fabricated demonstrating the practical use of the synthesized electrodes.

Date of Award	11 Nov 2022
Original language	English
Supervisor	Gyorgy , Eniko (Director) & Pérez del Pino, Angel (Director)