Charan Masarapu

Stretchable supercapacitors based on buckled single-walled carbon-nanotube macrofilms.

Adv. Mater. 2009, 21, 4793–4797 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag G N Stretchable electronic devices, such as p–n diodes, photovoltaic devices, transistors, and functional electronic eyes, have been fabricated using buckled single-crystal (e.g., Si, GaAs) thin films supported by elastomeric substrates. Recently, carbon nanotube (CNT)-based highly conducting elastic composites and stretchable graphene films have been reported, which are suitable as interconnects in stretchable electronic devices. As an indispensable component of stretchable electronics, a stretchable power-source device should be able to accommodate large strains while retaining intact function. Of various power-source devices, supercapacitors have attracted great interest in recent years due to their high power and energy densities compared with lithium-ion batteries and conventional dielectric capacitors, respectively. The most active research in supercapacitors is the development of new electrode materials. Recently, CNTs have been studied as good candidates for electrode materials because of several advantages, including a high surface area, nanoscale dimensions, and excellent electrical conductivity. Here, we report stretchable supercapacitors based on periodically sinusoidal single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) macrofilms (a 2D network of randomly oriented SWNTs). The stretchable supercapacitors comprise two sinusoidal SWNT macrofilms as stretchable electrodes, an organic electrolyte, and a polymeric separator. Electrochemical tests were performed and the fabricated stretchable supercapacitors are found to possess energy and power densities comparable with those of supercapacitors using pristine SWNT macrofilms as electrodes. Remarkably, the electrochemical performance of the stretchable supercapacitors remains unchanged even under 30% applied tensile strain. The preparation of the periodically sinusoidal SWNT macrofilms is of primary importance for stretchable supercapacitors. The synthesis of high-quality, purified, and functionalized SWNT macrofilms is, thus, an important preprocess, which has been presented elsewhere. The purified SWNT macrofilm was then shaped to a sinusoidal form by following the steps shown in Figure 1a. The procedure introduced here (step i in Fig. 1a) involves the uniaxial prestretching (epre) of an elastomeric substrate of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) slab (epre1⁄4DL/L for length changed from L to LþDL), followed by a chemical surface treatment to form a hydrophilic surface (see Experimental Section). The exposure of UV light introduces atomic oxygen, an activated species that reacts with PDMS and, thus, changes the

High capacity anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Na-ion batteries are an attractive alternative to Li-ion batteries for large-scale energy storage systems because of their low cost and the abundant Na resources. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of selected anode materials with high reversible capacities that can increase the energy density of Na-ion batteries. Moreover, we discuss the reaction and failure mechanisms of those anode materials with a view to suggesting promising strategies for improving their electrochemical performance.

Effect of Temperature on the Capacitance of Carbon Nanotube Supercapacitors

The effect of temperature on the kinetics and the diffusion mechanism of the ions in a supercapacitor assembled with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) film electrodes and an organic electrolyte were thoroughly investigated. An improved room temperature performance of the supercapacitor was observed due to the combined effects of an increase in the conductivity of the SWNT films and surface modifications on the SWNT films by repeatedly heating and cooling the supercapacitor between the temperatures of 25 and 100 degrees C. Modified Randles equivalent circuit was employed to carry out an extensive analysis of the Nyquist spectra measured at different temperatures between 25 and 100 degrees C in order to understand the fundamentals of the capacitive and resistive variations in the supercapacitor. The experimental results and their thorough analysis will have significant impact not only on the fundamental understanding of the temperature-dependent electrode/electrolyte interfacial properties but also on supercapacitor design with appropriate electrode materials for numerous industrial and consumer applications. The supercapacitor with SWNT film electrodes was capable of withstanding current densities as high as 100 A/g, yielding eminent specific power density values of about 55 kW/kg. Ultralong galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling over 200 000 cycles with a constant current density of 20 A/g at 25 and 100 degrees C, respectively, showed excellent stability in capacitance with more than 80% efficiency. The usage of such a supercapacitor potentially enables far-reaching advances in backup energy storage and high pulse power applications.

Anthocyanin-sensitized solar cells using carbon nanotube films as counter electrodes

Carbon nanotube (CNT) films have been used as counter electrodes in natural dye-sensitized (anthocyanin-sensitized) solar cells to improve the cell performance. Compared with conventional cells using natural dye electrolytes and platinum as the counter electrodes, cells with a single-walled nanotube (SWNT) film counter electrode show comparable conversion efficiency, which is attributed to the increase in short circuit current density due to the high conductivity of the SWNT film.

In-Situ Formation of Sandwiched Structures of Nanotube/CuxOy/Cu Composites for Lithium Battery Applications

Development of materials and structures leading to lithium ion batteries with high energy and power density is a major requirement for catering to the power needs of present day electronic industry. Here, we report an in situ formation of a sandwiched structure involving single-walled carbon nanotube film, copper oxide, and copper during the direct synthesis of nanotube macrofilms over copper foils and their electrochemical performance in lithium ion batteries. The sandwiched structure showed a remarkably high reversible capacity of 220 mAh/g at a high cycling current of 18.6 A/g (50 C), leading to a significantly improved electrochemical performance which is extremely high compared to pure carbon nanotube and any other carbon based materials.

Tandem structure of porous silicon film on single-walled carbon nanotube macrofilms for lithium-ion battery applications.

Development of materials and structures leading to high energy and power density lithium-ion batteries is a major challenge to the power needs of the electronic and automobile industries. Silicon is an attractive anode material being closely scrutinized for use in lithium-ion batteries but suffers from a poor cyclability and early capacity fading. In this work, we present a tandem structure of porous silicon film on single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) film to significantly improve the cycling stability of silicon as lithium-ion battery anode material. With this new structure configuration of the silicon films, a reversible specific capacity of 2221 mAh/g was retained after 40 charge-discharge cycles at 0.1 C rate, which is 3.6 times that of silicon film on a regular copper substrate and more than 11 times that of the SWNT film. The facile method is efficient and effective in improving specific capacity and stability of silicon anode lithium-ion batteries and will provide a powerful means for the development of lithium-ion batteries.

Specific heat of aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes

The specific heat of an aligned bulk multiwalled carbon nanotube sample made by the chemical vapour deposition method was measured from 250 to 1.8 K. The specific heat curve gradually decreased, showing one-dimensional (1D) behaviour down to 40 K. Below 40 K it showed a rapid decrease due to the dimensional change from 1D to 3D behaviour, indicated by different temperature dependences at low temperature. Interestingly, a T−2 term was observed below 5 K, suggesting a nuclear hyperfine component due to magnetic impurities which were confirmed to be present by thermogravimetric analysis and microscopy observations.

Super-small energy gaps of single-walled carbon nanotube strands

The temperature dependence of the resistance measured on long single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) strands has been investigated. By applying a simple model to the detailed analysis of our experimental results, we discovered a super-small energy gap of 1–3meV, which is an intrinsic property of the “metallic” SWNT bundles in long SWNT strands.