Studies on 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors

Abstract A cost-effective 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor is developed and performance tested. These hybrid ultracapacitors employ flexible-graphite sheets as negative plate current-collectors that are coated amperometrically with a thin layer of conducting polymer, namely poly-aniline to provide good adhesivity to activated-carbon layer. The positive plate of the hybrid ultracapacitors comprise conventional lead-sheet that is converted electrochemically into a substrate-integrated lead-dioxide electrode. 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors both in absorbent-glass-mat and polymeric silica-gel electrolyte configurations are fabricated and characterized. It is possible to realize 12 V configurations with capacitance values of ∼200 F and ∼300 F, energy densities of ∼1.9 Wh kg^-1 and ∼2.5 Wh kg^-1 and power densities of ∼2 kW kg^-1 and ∼0.8 kW kg^-1, respectively, having faradaic-efficiency values of ∼90 % with cycle-life in excess of 100,000 cycles. The effective cost of the mentioned hybrid ultracapacitors is estimated to be about ∼4 US$/Wh as compared to ∼20 US$/Wh for commercially available ultracapacitors.