Energy storage

Liquid exfoliated 2D materials demonstrate great promise for use in the energy storage arena. In our group we have explored a number of energy storage areas, including electrocatalytic energy storage and supercapacitors. Currently the focus is on battery electrodes. A number of 2D materials have very high theoretical lithium storage capability. Part of our battery research involves identifying such materials, fabricating nanosheets using liquid phase exfoliation and performing electrochemical testing to identify their lithium storage capabilities. Some time ago we realized that the lithium storage performance of many materials is maximized when they are mixed with carbon nanotubes. The presence of the nanotubes results in extremely conductive electrodes and dramatically enhances the mechanical properties of the materials. This combination of properties allows lithium ion battery electrodes to display extremely high performance even when relatively thick. We also have an interest in understanding the rate performance of battery electrodes. We use a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches to fully quantify the rate performance both of electrodes and full cells.