Lumami (Nagaland): A research team led by Nagaland University has pioneered a groundbreaking, cost-effective method for creating an advanced material used in the next generation of energy storage devices known as ‘supercapacitors’.
These devices are gaining significant attention for their ability to store large amounts of energy and charge rapidly, making them a promising alternative to traditional batteries.
Supercapacitors are increasingly being viewed as a potential solution to the growing demand for more efficient and sustainable energy storage systems.
However, the high cost of materials used in their construction has hindered their widespread adoption.
The new research, developed by a multi-institute team, aims to address this barrier by offering a more affordable and efficient approach.
The team’s innovative process involves creating aminated graphene, a derivative of reduced graphene oxide, which has been shown to have superior electrochemical properties.
This new method is not only cost-effective but also significantly faster than traditional techniques, making it a viable option for large-scale production.
Early laboratory tests have shown promising results, and the method has already been granted an Indian patent.
With this breakthrough, the research is now poised for potential commercial application.
The team behind this research includes experts from Nagaland University, Visvesvaraya Technological University in Karnataka, and Nagarjuna College of Engineering and Technology.
The team’s efforts led to the development of a high-performance functionalized graphene supercapacitor material with a wide electrochemical window, exceptional stability, and an impressive energy density.
The study was conducted by Suraj Kumar, a DST-INSPIRE Fellow at Nagaland University, under the joint supervision of Prof. Dipak Sinha from the Department of Chemistry, Nagaland University, and Prof. Dinesh Rangappa from Visvesvaraya Technological University.
The team also included Priyakshi Bora from Nagaland University, Kunal Roy from Visvesvaraya Technological University, and Dr. Navya Rani M. from Nagarjuna College of Engineering and Technology.
In their research, published in iScience, the team explains how their method improves upon traditional approaches, which typically require high temperatures, elevated pressures, and lengthy processing times.
Prof. Sinha emphasised the energy efficiency of the new approach, which operates under moderate temperature and pressure, making it more suitable for large-scale production.
The resulting material not only simplifies the manufacturing process but also delivers significantly enhanced performance, including an energy density exceeding 50 Wh/kg and 98% energy retention after 10,000 charge cycles.
Notably, this process achieves a five-fold increase in gravimetric energy density compared to its non-aminated counterpart.
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Suraj Kumar further explained the advantages of the new method: “Traditional methods are time-consuming and resource-intensive. Our new process is a one-pot synthesis that directly transforms bulk graphite into aminated graphene. This reduces both time and resource usage, operates under moderate conditions, and is one of the fastest methods for producing this material.”
This development is a significant step forward in advancing affordable and efficient energy storage systems, which are essential for the future of renewable energy technologies.
For more details, the full research is available on iScience here.
