Conducting Polymer Nanocomposites For Supercapacitors

Supercapacitors have drawn intensive attention owing to their virtues of high power density, long cycle life, short charging time and safe operation for promising applications to resolve problems of limited global energy supply and environmental problems. Supercapacitors are designed to bridge the gap between batteries and capacitors, to form fast charging energy-storage devices of intermediate specific energy. The supercapacitor is an important device in the energy storage and conversion systems, and is used in different applications such as in electric vehicles, uninterruptible power supplies, memory protection of computer electronics and cellular devices.This book serves as a guide in understanding the basics of conducting polymer technology, nanostructurisation of conducting polymers and their composites emerging as a new field of research and development, directed to the creation of new smart materials, especially for supercapacitors.The concepts of supercapacitors are well explained in simple and concise form to avoid the confusion of students and academic professionals. The book has chemical engineering orientation and therefore, professionals from the polymer science field may find this book most suitable for their advanced and applied field of research. It will provide them an opportunity to learn about conducting polymers and nanocomposites, and their production and processing technology for supercapacitors. Although the attention is mainly focused on preparation of conducting polymer based binary and ternary nanocomposites and their electrochemical performances for supercapacitor application, this book will be a valuable reference for scientists, engineers, students and general readers who are interested in the investigation and exploitation of the fascinating new class of conducting polymer nanocomposites.

This book presents a comprehensive survey about conducting polymers and their hybrids with different materials. It highlights the topics pertinent to research and development in academia and in the industry. The book thus discusses the preparation and characterization of these materials, as well as materials properties and their processing. The current challenges in the field are addressed, and an outline on new and even futuristic approaches is given. “Conducting Polymer Hybrids” is concerned with a fascinating class of materials with the promise for wide-ranging applications, including energy generation and storage, supercapacitors, electronics, display technologies, sensing, environmental and biomedical applications. The book covers a large variety of systems: one-, two-, and three-dimenstional composites and hybrids, mixed at micro- and nanolevel.

Conducting Polymer-Based Nanocomposites: Fundamentals and Applications delivers an up-to-date overview on cutting-edge advancements in the field of nanocomposites derived from conjugated polymeric matrices. Design of conducting polymers and resultant nanocomposites has instigated significant addition in the field of modern nanoscience and technology. Recently, conducting polymer-based nanocomposites have attracted considerable academic and industrial research interest. The conductivity and physical properties of conjugated polymers have shown dramatic improvement with nanofiller addition. Appropriate fabrication strategies and the choice of a nanoreinforcement, along with a conducting matrix, may lead to enhanced physicochemical features and material performance. Substantial electrical conductivity, optical features, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and other physical properties of the conducting polymer-based nanocomposites have led to high-performance materials and high-tech devices and applications. This book begins with a widespread impression of state-of-the-art knowledge in indispensable features and processing of conducting polymer-based nanocomposites. It then discusses essential categories of conducting polymer-based nanocomposites such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and derived nanomaterials. Subsequent sections of this book are related to the potential impact of conducting polymer-based nanocomposites in various technical fields. Significant application areas have been identified for anti-corrosion, EMI shielding, sensing, and energy device relevance. Finally, the book covers predictable challenges and future opportunities in the field of conjugated nanocomposites. Integrates the fundamentals of conducting polymers and a range of multifunctional applications Describes categories of essential conducting polymer-based nanocomposites for polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, and derivative materials Assimilates the significance of multifunctional nanostructured materials of nanocomposite nanofibers Portrays current and future demanding technological applications of conjugated polymer-based nanocomposites, including anti-corrosion coatings, EMI shielding, sensors, and energy production and storage devices

Electrochemical capacitors or supercapacitors offer a number of advantages over batteries; they are more safe and reliable, charge quicker, have an indefinite lifespan, exhibit a high power density and a wide range of working temperature. Supercapacitors demonstrate an extraordinary potential in both consumer electronics and large-sized energy storage applications, e.g. in communications, transportation, aviation, and power industries. The book explores recent developments in the area of composite applications for supercapacitor electrodes based von conducting polymers, graphene, biomass, or carbonaceous quantum dots. Synthesis strategies of composite materials and electrode preparation methods are discussed in detail. Electrochemical Capacitors, Supercapacitors, Energy Storage, Supercapacitor Electrodes, Conducting Polymer Composites, Graphene-based Composites, Biomass-based Capacitors, Carbonaceous Quantum Dot Composites, Sol-Gel Synthesis, Sonochemical Synthesis, Polyaniline-Zirconia Nanofibers

This thesis describes the use of cellulose nanocrystals for the fabrication of porous nanocomposites with electronic conducting polymers for electrochemical supercapacitor applications. The exceptional strength and negatively charged surface functionalities on cellulose nanocrystals are utilised in these nanocomposites. The negatively charged surface functionalities on cellulose nanocrystals allow their simultaneous incorporation into electropolymerised, positively charged conducting polymer for charge balancing, i.e. co-electrodeposition occurs. The exception is the case of polyaniline-cellulose nanocomposites which formed with uncharged cellulose nanocrystals. As a result, the cellulose nanocrystals form the structural backbone of the nanocomposites in which the mechanical integrity of the nanocomposites becomes significantly improved. In Chapter 1, supercapacitors and the electrode materials are introduced. The equations relating to the characterisation of supercapacitor materials and devices are also introduced in Chapter 1. In the first half of Chapter 2, the basics of electrochemistry and electrochemical methods used in this work are discussed. In the second half, the preparation of the cellulose nanocrystals is reported. Chapters 3 and 4 report the fabrication and characterisation of polypyrrole-cellulose nanocrystal composites with respect to their capacitance, stability and charging characteristics. Chapter 5 discusses the making of the polypyrrole-cellulose nanocomposites at a practical scale for supercapacitors, and consequently reports the making and testing of a laboratory prototype supercapacitor. Chapter 6 extends the PPy work to other ECPs by the fabrication and characterisation of polyaniline and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanocomposites with cellulose nanocrystals. Finally, Chapter 7 contains the closing conclusions that I have made for this thesis, and in Chapter 8, I have made some suggestions for future work in this area. In this project, the materials were characterised using mainly scanning electron microscopy and a range of electrochemical techniques. Specifically, the performance of the polypyrrole-cellulose nanocomposites was compared against that of polypyrrole-carbon nanotube nanocomposites, current state-of-the-art materials for supercapacitor. The performance of all the nanocomposites described in this thesis was also critically compared against that of the best available similar materials in literature, to assess the viability of these materials for applications in supercapacitor devices. Significantly, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that the nanocomposites of electronic conducting polymers with non-conducting rod-like nanoparticles fabricated using the co-electrodeposition method were described. The performance of conducting polymer composites was significantly enhanced by the presence of the cellulose nanocrystals as the backbone. This work also proves, for the first time, that conducting polymer composite containing non-conducting nanofillers can also achieve high performance. This is a very interesting finding, compared to previous work reported in the literature for similar materials, such as those developed using carbon nanotubes as the composite filler.

Conducting polymers are organic polymers which contain conjugation along the polymer backbone that conduct electricity. Conducting polymers are promising materials for energy storage applications because of their fast charge–discharge kinetics, high charge density, fast redox reaction, low-cost, ease of synthesis, tunable morphology, high power capability and excellent intrinsic conductivity compared with inorganic-based materials. Conducting Polymers-Based Energy Storage Materials surveys recent advances in conducting polymers and their composites addressing the execution of these materials as electrodes in electrochemical power sources. Key Features: Provides an overview on the conducting polymer material properties, fundamentals and their role in energy storage applications. Deliberates cutting-edge energy storage technology based on synthetic metals (conducting polymers) Covers current applications in next-generation energy storage devices. Explores the new aspects of conducting polymers with processing, tunable properties, nanostructures and engineering strategies of conducting polymers for energy storage. Presents up-to-date coverage of a large, rapidly growing and complex conducting polymer literature on all-types electrochemical power sources. This book is an invaluable guide for students, professors, scientists, and R&D industrial specialists working in the field of advanced science, nanodevices, flexible electronics, and energy science.

Supercapacitors are energy storing devices, gaining great scientific attention due to their excellent cycling life, charge-discharge stability, energy, and power density. The central theme of this book is to review the multiple applications of polymer nanocomposites in supercapacitors in a comprehensive manner, including discussions pertaining to various unresolved issues and new challenges in the subject area. It illustrates polymer nanocomposite preparation and working mechanisms as electrodes, binders, separators, and electrolytes. This edited volume also explains different components of supercapacitors, including theory, modelling, and simulation aspects. Features: Covers the synthesis and properties of polymer nanocomposites for varied usage. Explains roles of different types of nanofillers in polymeric systems for developing supercapacitors. Highlights theory, modelling, and simulation of polymeric supercapacitors. Gives an illustrative overview of the multiple applications of polymers and their nanocomposites. Includes graphene, CNT, nanoparticle, carbon, and nano-cellulose-based supercapacitors. This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in materials science, polymer science, polymer physics, electrochemistry, electronic materials, energy management, electronic engineering, polymer engineers, and chemical engineering.

This book covers the selection of nanocomposite supercapacitor materials. It describes the most important criteria behind the selection of materials for the electrode, electrolytes, separator and current collectors, which comprise the key components of supercapacitors for advanced energy storage. It discusses the influence on each material on the unique electrochemical properties of nanocomposite supercapacitors with respect to their energy storage mechanism and stability under extreme and unpredictable conditions. This book is part of the Handbook of Nanocomposite Supercapacitor Materials. Supercapacitors have emerged as promising devices for electrochemical energy storage, playing an important role in energy harvesting for meeting the current demands of increasing global energy consumption. The handbook covers the materials science and engineering of nanocomposite supercapacitors, ranging from their general characteristics and performance to materials selection, design and construction. Covering both fundamentals and recent developments, this handbook serves a readership encompassing students, professionals and researchers throughout academia and industry, particularly in the fields of materials chemistry, electrochemistry, and energy storage and conversion. It is ideal as a reference work and primary resource for any introductory senior-level undergraduate or beginning graduate course covering supercapacitors.