Thermally stable structural supercapacitor composites for advanced energy storage

Thermally stable structural supercapacitor composites for advanced energy storage

Fibre-reinforced polymers are potential candidates in numerous fields, particularly aviation, automobile, and civil engineering, where lightweight design is crucial. During the past few years, the development of advanced materials, such as multifunctional materials using fibre-reinforced polymers, has been researched extensively. With this development, energy-storable composites such as structural supercapacitor composite (SSC) have attracted significant attention from researchers because those structures can be integrated into any load-bearing components that require electrochemical energy. Despite significant advantages in this field, developing an effective structural supercapacitor for practical applications remains challenging due to the trade-off between electrical and structural performance. Thus, this project aimed to fabricate a novel structural supercapacitor based on a sandwich composite structure to overcome these challenges. The proposed supercapacitor functional sandwich composite was fabricated with a high electrochemical performance core layer bonded with two strong, durable skin layers. Graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) coated carbon fibre (CF) electrodes with bi-continuous solid polymer electrolyte were used as the electrode and electrolyte of the energy storage core, respectively. Notably, this study investigated the structural and electrical properties of the developed composite panel at extreme environmental conditions, such as elevated temperatures, to fill the existing research gap in the field of SSCs. The developed sandwich SSC exhibited a specific capacitance of 57.28 mFcm-2 and an energy density of 179 mWhm-2 at room temperature (25 °C). The performance doubled as the temperature increased to 85 °C with outstanding capacitance retentions more than 75%. The flexural properties demonstrated a retention of strength from 146 MPa at 25 °C to 71 MPa at 85 °C while exceeding the minimum strength requirements for building materials. Finally, the developed composite panel was demonstrated as a roofing sheet, confirming its potential for use in civil engineering applications for the first time. The outcomes of this project are expected to expand the potential applications of SSCs in engineering applications such as portable electronic devices, electric and hybrid vehicles, and aerospace vehicles, where integrated electrochemical energy storage is of paramount importance. Additionally, the developed sandwich SSC has demonstrated significant multifunctionality, opening a new window for further advancements in SSCs across various engineering fields in future.

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