Research on graphene supercapacitors conducted by Professor Richard Kaner’s group was recently highlighted in a widely used chemistry textbook.
Editors Raymond Chang and Kenneth Goldsby recognized the Kaner lab’s work on carbon-based supercapacitors in the latest edition of “Chemistry” 12e, published by McGraw Hill this year.
Excerpt from page three of the textbook: “Before plunging into the study of matter and its transformation, let us consider some of the frontiers that chemists are currently exploring (Figure 1.1). Whatever your reasons are for taking general chemistry, a good knowledge of the subject will better enable you to appreciate its impact on society and on you as an individual”.
The writers then give four examples of chemistry frontiers including graphene supercapacitors using a representative photo of a supercapacitor device built in the Kaner lab at UCLA (below).
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A graphene supercapacitor device built in the Kaner lab (right) is featured in Figure 1.1 of the widely used textbook Chemistry 12e by Chang & Goldsby (left). “Supercapacitors are attractive nowadays because, unlike batteries, they can be charged and discharged in seconds and can do so a million times” said Dr. Maher El-Kady who developed a simple process for the fabrication of supercapacitors and is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Kaner Lab. Dr. El-Kady explained: Supercapacitors are used in thousands of applications around us. For example, some smartphones now take advantage of the rapid discharge capability of supercapacitors to provide a high intensity flash required for the camera phone.The high power density and excellent low temperature performance of supercapacitors make them the technology of choice for cold starting, regenerative braking and whenever a high power is required in a short period of time. They also play an important role in the progress of hybrid and electric vehicles, military and space applications. Unlike batteries, supercapacitors do not store much charge to run portable electronics. This has triggered tremendous research efforts in order to develop new materials with high charge storage capability and graphene seems to be an excellent candidate. “We are excited about graphene because it offers new possibilities for the fabrication of cost-effective and energy dense supercapacitors” said Professor Richard Kaner. 📷 Professor Richard Kaner (left) with postdoctoral research associate Dr. Maher El-Kady who developed a simple process for the fabrication of supercapacitors (right). For more information, visit the Kaner Group website here. Photo credits: top photo (l) McGraw Hill (r) Dr. Maher El-Kady, UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; bottom photo - Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.