Gautham Prasad 2019 IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 561 012105
Gautham Prasad 2019 IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 561 012105
Gautham Prasad 2019 IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 561 012105
Abstract: Battery technologies are well established and widely used technology but they offer several
disadvantages like weight, volume, large internal resistance, poor power density, poor transient
response. On the other hand, due to advancement in the material and other technology, Supercapacitor
or Ultracapacitors or Electrostatic Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) are a most promising energy
storage device. They offer a greater transient response, power density, low weight, low volume and low
internal resistance which make them suitable for several applications. This paper summarizes recent
research and development in the field of supercapacitor technology. This paper gives a brief insight
into the design, characteristics and applications of the supercapacitor.
1. Introduction
Battery technologies are well established and widely used, with applications ranging from toys to
medical implants. Some of the downsides with batteries are, lower lifecycle, less power density,
higher charging time, heating problem and they are not environmentally safe. There are several
alternatives available to batteries, one such device of interest is Supercapacitor (SC). The
supercapacitors are special capacitors with a large capacitance, they combine properties of batteries
and capacitors into a single device. The supercapacitors have significantly matured over the last few
years and have exhibited potential to provide advances in the energy storage system [1]. Compared to
conventional battery or capacitor, charging time of supercapacitor is very less and can discharge like a
regular battery. Comparatively, these are lightweight and environmentally friendly.
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ICMSMT 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 561 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/561/1/012105
SC uses a dielectric material to separate two carbon-based electrodes, which not only acts an insulator
but also has electrical properties that affect the performance of SC. In SC there is no transfer of
charges, instead, charges are stored electrostatically. When a voltage is applied across the terminals,
an electric field is created in the electrolyte and because of this electrolyte is polarized. This causes
ions to diffuse through the dielectric to the porous electrodes of opposite charges [8]. Thus electric
double layer is formed at each electrode, as a result, distance between electrodes decreases and
surface area of electrode increases [6][9]. The energy storage capacity depends on the active material
used in the electrolyte, the surface area of electrode and utilization rate of micro-holes in the porous
electrode [10].
3.Taxonomy
Supercapacitors can be classified into 3 classes: EDLC, Pseudo-capacitors and Hybrid capacitors.
Based on charge storage techniques, they can be further classified as Faradaic, Non-Faradaic and
combination of both. In the Faradaic process, charges are transferred between electrode and
electrolyte. In Non- Faradaic process by means of physical process charges are distributed on the
surface.
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ICMSMT 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 561 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/561/1/012105
Based on SC charging and discharging at constant current, Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) and
capacitance measuring methods are devised for DC characterization [20]. Initially, SC is charged at
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ICMSMT 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 561 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/561/1/012105
Constant Current (CC) till it reaches a small voltage, then it is connected to a fixed voltage DC
source. Then SC is discharged at CC, until voltage drop is seen at the beginning of the discharge cycle
[22][23][24]. Charging time can be increased by changing some of the parameters [25]. Figure. 6
shows the profile of the discharging process. SC voltage comprises of capacitive and resistive
component. Voltage due to charge and discharge is represented by the capacitive component. Voltage
change due to internal resistance is given by the resistive component and internal resistance is given
by ESR [21]. SC charge redistribution leads to voltage drop or boost in a relatively short term
compared to self-discharge [26]. Effects of supercapacitor self-discharge for low power applications
and high power application have been investigated using different models [27][28][29][30].
6.Lifetime analysis
Compared to other charge storage devices, SC has a much longer lifetime. With Non-Faradaic
process, there is no chemical associated as there is no transfer of charge between electrolyte and
electrode, which means it can last longer than capacitors and batteries which uses chemicals to store
charges. The SC with polymer electrodes has a lesser lifetime as liquid electrolytes evaporate
overtime, which is a function of temperature and voltage applied. Temperature and voltage plays a
vital role on a lifetime of SC [31]. In designing an energy storage system an accurate aging model
[32][33] plays a critical role. In order to estimate the balance charge left in the device, precise
calculation of instantaneous SC energy has to be done. In a certain scenario, SC is subjected to rapid
charging/discharging cycles with constant power characteristics that is, when current increases voltage
decreases and vice-versa [34][35]. Increase in current causes voltage drops and these losses escalates
especially when cells are connected in series [5], due to high ESR. ESR and equivalent capacitance
(EC) values changes with the device age [36][37][38]. Generally, manufacturers provide ESR and EC
values with 20% tolerance [34], complicating the energy balance estimation [39].
7.Selection of supercapacitor
To replace the batteries in the system, choosing the correct values and ratings of supercapacitors is
very important. Also, it is important to relate capacitance and energy in terms of watts per hour.
Battery charging and discharging time is calculated based on the ampere-hour rating, an equation (1)
relating ampere-hour and capacitance is given below [4].
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ICMSMT 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 561 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/561/1/012105
Stacked and rolled type supercapacitor have different effective characteristics, choosing between them
is also important [40]. An ideal SC must have a high energy density, high power density, high pulse
current, high capacitance and low resistance.
Table 2.Comparison between supercapacitor, electrolytic capacitor and battery performance [13]
Storage device characteristics Super capacitor Capacitor Battery
Charging time 1 – 30 s 10-3< t < 10-6S 1<t<5h
Discharging time 1 – 30 s 10-3< t < 10-6S T > 0.3 h
Energy density (Wh/kg) 1 – 10 < 0.1 10 – 100
Life time (Cycle number) 106 106 1000
Power density (W/kg) 10,000 > 1,000,000 < 1000
Charge / discharge efficiency 0.85 – 0.98 > 0.95 0.7 – 0.85
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ICMSMT 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 561 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/561/1/012105
10.Conclusion
In this paper, some of the characteristics of the supercapacitors have been discussed which will be
helpful to select supercapacitor and design energy storage system using it. With high power density,
short charging time, large discharging time, long life and environmentally friendly properties
supercapacitor may be chosen as an alternative for battery or other energy storage devices.
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IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 561 (2019) 012105 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/561/1/012105
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