College of Engineering
Comparative Study on the Performance of Exohed ral Carbons in Textile Electrical Do uble Layer Capacitors
Da niel Ste nger COE Mechanical Engineering Dr . Yury Go gotsi Faculty Mentor Materials Science & Engineering Kristy Jost Graduate Student Mentor
Poster Session A
Electronic textiles are wearable electronic devices such as sensors, antennas, and computational devices that are integrated into clothing. Such devices have direct applications in the military, medicine, and for everyday consumers. Energy storage is one of the principal challenges preventing the full implementation of wearable electronics. This research focuses on making “textile� electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) that power wearable electronics. EDLCs are ideal energy devices for wearable electronics because they can be made entirely of non-toxic, non-flammable carbon materials and electrolytes. The goal of our research is to adapt this system for e-textile applications by making EDLCs entirely of fabric and other flexible materials. Our research uses highly conductive and flexible carbon fiber fabric as current collectors with activated carbon paint printed onto the carbon fiber to act as active material, and a solid polymer electrolyte. Our latest work describes the fabrication and electrochemical testing of textile EDLCs using highly conductive exohedral carbons paints, including carbon onions, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. This study also explores using these materials in combination since previous studies have found an increase in capacitance beyond that of their individual capacities. This systematic study is the first to compare and contrast exohedral carbon materials, individually and in combination, specifically for wearable fabric systems. 86