The current lithium-ion battery technology is expensive and not environmentally sustainable. Supercapacitors are an alternative; however, they have low energy densities, making them impractical to use. Therefore, this project aimed to create an energy source that solved all the problems batteries had while improving upon the super-capacitor. Hence, this project synthesized a novel electrode material. Manganese oxide (MnO2) was used and was synthesized with the solgel process to create 1D nano-rods. It was then doped with Fe to weaken the hydrogen bonds in the MnO2 to create oxygen vacancies. The novel electrode was combined with the binder solution and current collector to make the final pseudo-super-capacitor. This not only allowed for the overall capacitance to be higher than commercial products with a capacitance of 0.90F but also allowed for the energy density to be 5x higher with around 5.337 (Wh/kg). The power density was also not compromised, being 2456.163 (W/kg). The prototype has the potential to store 900 watts at the mere cost of $10.03. With a power source as potent as this, many science fields will gain flexibility, and low-income communities can gain access to a reliable power source. This prototype will have a transformative impact on society.

References

1. Wolfram, C., Shelef, O., & Gertler, P. (2012). How will energy demand develop in the developing world? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(1), 119–138.
2. Gurumukhi, A. (n.d.). A Novel Fe-Doped Metal Oxide Electrode Material for High Energy.
3. Akinyele, D. O., & Rayudu, R. K. (2014). Review of energy storage technologies for sustainable power networks. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 8, 74–91.
4. Wen, J., Yu, Y., & Chen, C. (2012). A review on lithium-ion batteries safety issues: existing problems and possible solutions. Materials Express, 2(3), 197–212.
5. Mauger, A., & Julien, C. M. (2017). Critical review on lithium-ion batteries: are they safe? Sustainable? Ionics, 23, 1933–1947.
6. Zhang, S., & Pan, N. (2015). Supercapacitors performance evaluation. Advanced Energy Materials, 5(6), 1401401.
7. Halper, M. S., & Ellenbogen, J. C. (2006). Supercapacitors: A brief overview. The MITRE Corporation.
8. Huang, S., et al. (2019). Challenges and opportunities for supercapacitors. APL Materials.
9. Yao, G., et al. (2021). Nanostructured transition metal vanadates as electrodes for pseudo-supercapacitors: a review. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 23(2), 57.
10. Conway, B. E., & Pell, W. G. (2002). Power limitations of supercapacitor operation associated with resistance and capacitance distribution in porous electrode devices. Journal of Power Sources, 105(2), 169–181.
11. Qu, D. (2009). Mechanistic studies for the limitation of carbon supercapacitor voltage. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 39, 867–871.
12. Venet, P., et al. (2007). Modelling of the supercapacitors during self-discharge. EPE Journal, 17(1), 6–10.
13. Iro, Z. S., Subramani, C., & Dash, S. S. (2016). A brief review on electrode materials for supercapacitor. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 11(12), 10628–10643.
14. Blomquist, N., et al. (2017). Metal-free supercapacitor with aqueous electrolyte and low-cost carbon materials. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 39836.
15. Zhang, Q., et al. (2021). A facile solution-based metallisation method without harsh conditions and expensive activators for paper substrate and its application in flexible supercapacitor. Materials & Design, 205, 109742.
16. Benajes, J., et al. (2024). A review on low carbon fuels for road vehicles: The good, the bad and the energy potential for the transport sector. Fuel, 361, 130647.
17. Yabuuchi, N., & Komaba, S. (2014). Recent research progress on iron- and manganese-based positive electrode materials for rechargeable sodium batteries. Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, 15(4), 043501.
18. Parveen, N., et al. (2022). Manganese oxide as an effective electrode material for energy storage: A review. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 20(1), 283–309.
19. Wei, W., et al. (2011). Manganese oxide-based materials as electrochemical supercapacitor electrodes. Chemical Society Reviews, 40(3), 1697–1721.
20. Feng, M., Du, Q., Su, L., et al. (2017). Manganese oxide electrode with excellent electrochemical performance for sodium ion batteries by pre-intercalation of K and Na ions. Scientific Reports, 7, 2219. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02028-0