Capacitive Energy Storage in Nanostructured Carbon–Electrolyte Systems

Securing our energy future is the most important problem that humanity faces in this century. Burning fossil fuels is not sustainable, and wide use of renewable energy sources will require a drastically increased ability to store electrical energy. In the move toward an electrical economy, chemical (batteries) and capacitive energy storage (electrochemical capacitors or supercapacitors) devices are expected to play an important role. This Account summarizes research in the field of electrochemical capacitors conducted over the past decade. Overall, the combination of the right electrode materials with a proper electrolyte can successfully increase both the energy stored by the device and its power, but no…