A hybrid energy storage device developed by a team of researchers at Pondicherry University has been chosen to be featured on the cover of Royal Society of Chemistry’s New Journal of Chemistry.
The researchers at the Centre for Green Energy Technology developed the storage device known as super capattery (a hybrid electrochemical storage format) and lithium-ion battery from alternative electrode material synthesised using metal complex as a versatile precursor.
The team led by P. Elumalai, who heads the Centre, developed a simple pyrolysis method using metal complexes to generate alternative electrode materials for high energy and high power supercapattery and lithium-ion battery, the university said.
In a nod to the uniqueness of the innovation, the cover of the reputed international journal (Issue 29, 2020) depicts a picture of the precursor molecule, a blown-up view of the coin-type battery along with the prototype device powering an LED light.
“It is a rare honour for our work to be featured as a cover article in an international journal. It also speaks to the significance of the innovation,” Prof. Elumalai told The Hindu .
In recent years, global energy demands have amplified drastically due to industrialisation as well as the move towards a modernised lifestyle, and most of the energy demand is met by conventional resources of energy, which are on the verge of exhaustion. The dependence on such finite energy resources and their exhaustion may lead to an energy crisis, which is expected to pose a great global challenge in the near future.
The foreseeable exhaustion of fossil fuels raises the need for developing efficient technology that can utilize renewable energy resources in a better way. And, according to the team, which included S. Archana and M. Athika, among the various technologies available, electro-chemical energy storage seems to be an efficient system that has recently attracted major attention.
Batteries and supercapacitors are typical electrochemical energy storage systems that are capable of storing charges in a portable way. Among these, supercapacitors are widely considered as promising devices as they are capable of delivering high power, a long cycle-life and high coulombic efficiency. However, the specific energy of the supercapacitors is invariably low, which limits their practical use in high energy demanding applications. On the other hand, batteries that are known as energy devices have a limited power density and cycle life.
The hybrid storage device supercapattery, which essentially combines a battery electrode (faradaic material) and a supercapacitor electrode (non-faradaic material) serves to bridge the gap between supercapacitors and batteries, taking the best of both worlds.
“We are at level four of technology readiness having designed the prototype. It is now open to field testing and evaluation by experts,” said Prof. Elumalai.
“The hybrid energy storage device as well as the methodology may pave the way for the next generation of electrode materials for practical use in super capattery and lithium-ion battery applications,” he said.
The team has also recently filed five Indian patents on energy storage devices and acquired major grant from the Department of Science and Technology for development of lithium-air battery and sodium air battery. A state-of-art research facility has been created in the lab for battery and supercapacitor fabrication and their testing.
Vice-Chancellor Gurmeet Singh complimented the team on the achievement.
