{"id":11347,"date":"2012-09-20T16:07:46","date_gmt":"2012-09-20T20:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=11347"},"modified":"2012-09-20T16:09:21","modified_gmt":"2012-09-20T20:09:21","slug":"nsf-grant-to-fund-study-of-energy-storage-nanomaterials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=11347","title":{"rendered":"NSF Grant to Fund Study of Energy Storage Nanomaterials"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Apparao<\/a>
Apparao Rao (left) and Ramakrishna Podila (Clemson University)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A physics professor at Clemson University<\/a> in South Carolina will lead a team developing new nanoscale carbon materials for storing energy, funded by a grant from National Science Foundation<\/a>. The four-year, $1.2 million project is headed by physicist Apparao Rao and includes participants from Clemson and the University of California-San Diego.<\/p>\n

The research is expected to produce high energy-density electrochemical capacitors, components that store energy in an electric field. The capacitors will have electrodes made of carbon nanoscale materials, where 1 nanometer equals 1 billionth of a meter. Nanomaterials have a much greater surface-to-volume ratio than other substances, and can produce unusual and often very useful properties.<\/p>\n

In earlier research Rao and Clemson colleague Ramakrishna Podila (pictured left), investigated the engineering of carbon nanomaterials, developing a better understanding of the defects in those materials, which are key parts of the new project. The researchers now aim to use that knowledge of carbon nanomaterials to construct a variation of carbon with chains of molecules that allow electric current to flow in high-energy storage devices more effectively than comparable materials available today.<\/p>\n

The result is expected to be a better understanding of the processes needed to build a carbon-based high energy storage density device. These insights into electrochemical mechanisms and material interactions will be applied to the development of proof-of-concept devices and prototype systems.<\/p>\n

Rao notes the results of the research will have implications for electrical systems small and large. “This NSF project for energy storage,” says Rao, “could have a significant impact on applications ranging from household power tools to energy management and conservation applications.”<\/p>\n

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