UCLA

Energy storage devices allow us to charge portable electronics and use them when a wired energy source, such as a power outlet, is not available. One type of energy storage device is a supercapacitor. Supercapacitors store electrical energy through electric double layers and are based on positive and negative ions interacting with the surface of an active material. The active material is very important in determining the supercapacitor's ability to store charge, the time it takes to store charge, and the number of times the supercapacitor can be charged and discharged. The ideal active material has a large accessible surface area and high electrical conductivity. The use of flash converted graphene as an active material in supercapacitors is investigated. These supercapacitors are shown to have capacitive behavior that surpasses that of current commercial supercapacitors. Flash converted graphene is a graphene material prepared by using a flash lamp to photothermally deoxygenate graphene oxide, an oxidized form of graphite. The flashing process creates a graphene material that has an advantageous 3D corrugated morphology relative to other types of graphene materials.