Functional Polymers for Supercapacitors and Batteries

Mark E. Roberts, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

mrober9@clemson.edu

Roberts Research Group

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

Group Expertise
Polymer & Organic Chemistry
Extensive Material Diversity

Material & Electrode Processing

Physical Coating
Chemical Vapor Electrochemical
substrate polymer

Conducting polymers Localized redox processes Structure-driving groups

50 m

Electrochemical Analysis
ref ct

Device Fabrication
Coin cells

PS

substrate

flexible

Roberts Research Group

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

Research Areas
Polymer Electrode Design The structure and performance of polymer electrodes can be tailored through synthetic design. Responsive Polymer Electrolytes The phase behavior of polymer electrolyte solutions can lead to unique temperature dependent properties.

2cm

Polymer based electrodes are designed to achieve High-Power and High-Energy Density energy storage devices.
Roberts Research Group

Kelly, et al., Adv. Mater., 2012, 24, 886.

Responsive electrolytes are developed to achieve thermal control in electrochemical cells.

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

High Power, High Energy Electrodes

Current Technology Limitations
High-Power, High Energy

High-power and high-energy density devices are needed for:

Renewable Energy Generation

With existing materials and devices, we must pick between either High Power (capacitors) or High Energy (Batteries) Why not both?
Roberts Research Group

Transportation
http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

Conducting Polymer Solutions

Conducting Polymer Design Redox Molecule Dopants

Kearns & Roberts, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 2392.

Arcila-Velez & Roberts, Chem. Mater., 2014, 26, 1601.

Carbon-Polymer Composites
Increasing Polymer

Polymer NanoStructures

Arrays of micro/nano-structures over large areas

Roberts Research Group

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

Responsive Polymer Electrolytes

Safety Hazards of Li-ion Batteries
Small format cells have low power requirements and heat generation (low safety hazards)

State-of-the-art solutions to mitigate thermal hazards: 1) Separators with a central layer that melts above unsafe operating temperatures (destructive):
polypropylene polyethylene polypropylene

In large format batteries, highpower demands (fast discharge) lead to thermal instabilities that can cause fires and explosions.

www.celgard.com/

2) Solid-state polymer separators with lower ionic conductivity (low discharge rates)
http://spectrum.ieee.org/

Roberts Research Group

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

Responsive Polymer Electrolytes

Electrolyte Design for Li-ion Batteries
High conductivity Low conductivity
Increasing temperature

Polymer phase behavior is studied in ionic liquids and organic electrolytes. Polymer properties and salt concentration affect the thermal transition and conductivity.

Temperature-Responsive Optical and Electrochemical Properties Solutions undergo a thermallyactivated phase separation above a given temperature. Conductivity and charge transfer significantly decreases due to the formation of a resistive polymer layer.
Roberts Research Group http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/

Research Team
Collaborators Apparao M. Rao Rama Podila Anthony Guiseppi-Elie Stephen Foulger Mark Thies

Dave Wheeler (SNL) Dale Huber (SNL) Graduates Jesse Kelly Margie Arcila Kryssia Diaz Matt Noor
Undergraduates Robert Emmett, Timothy Bate Sam Leguizamon, Andrew Carlin Kyle Vassallo, Nicholas Degrood FUNDING

Roberts Research Group

http://www.clemson.edu/ces/conductingpolymers/