Computational studies of carbon-onions for electrochemical capacitor applications

Electrochemical capacitors or supercapacitors have high power and energy density, bridging the gap between conventional batteries and electrolytic capacitors. Nano-onion-like carbon structures have energies/capacitances several orders higher than conventional cells, making them the fastest growing technology in this area. The formation and temperature stability of nano-carbon-onions is studied using reactive force-fields, which include long-range interactions. Characterization of the final structure suggests that there are more sp²-bonded carbons in simulations with long-range interactions, which in turn help increase the temperature stability range in agreement with experiments. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 241st ACS National Meeting & Exposition (Anaheim, CA 3/27-31/2011).