West LA Times

A team of chemists at UCLA has developed a new form of the conductive plastic PEDOT, creating a textured, fur-like film that could revolutionize energy storage. This innovative material has been used to construct a supercapacitor with nearly ten times the charge capacity of conventional PEDOT and a lifespan approaching 100,000 charging cycles.

PEDOT, or poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), is widely used in electronics for its electrical conductivity. It protects components from static electricity and is found in touch screens and organic solar cells. However, its application in energy storage has been limited due to insufficient surface area and conductivity.

The UCLA researchers addressed these limitations by manipulating the morphology of PEDOT to grow nanofibers with high conductivity and expanded surface area. These enhancements are crucial for improving energy storage capabilities. The process was detailed in Advanced Functional Materials.

Supercapacitors differ from batteries by storing energy on their surfaces rather than through chemical reactions, allowing rapid charge and discharge cycles suitable for applications like regenerative braking systems in vehicles.

The challenge with supercapacitors lies in developing materials capable of holding large amounts of energy. Traditional PEDOT materials lack sufficient surface area, restricting their performance.

UCLA's approach involved using vapor-phase growth to create vertical PEDOT nanofibers resembling dense grass. This structure significantly increases the material’s surface area compared to conventional methods.

“The material’s unique vertical growth allows us to create PEDOT electrodes that store far more energy than traditional PEDOT,” explained Maher El-Kady, a UCLA materials scientist involved in the research.

The resulting supercapacitors exhibited impressive charge storage capacity and durability across nearly 100,000 cycles. These findings suggest potential advancements for efficient renewable energy systems.

“A polymer is essentially a long chain of molecules built out of shorter blocks called monomers,” added El-Kady. The process involves heating liquid monomers which react chemically upon contact with graphene nanoflakes' surfaces, forming vertical nanofibers that enhance surface area for better energy storage.

The new PEDOT material demonstrated exceptional results: its conductivity is 100 times higher than commercial products, while its electrochemically active surface area quadruples traditional levels—key factors boosting supercapacitor performance significantly.

This innovation also boasts one of the highest charge capacities recorded for PEDOT at over 4600 milliFarads per square centimeter—almost an order of magnitude above conventional figures—and remarkable durability exceeding 70,000 cycles.

“The exceptional performance and durability of our electrodes shows great potential for graphene PEDOT’s use in supercapacitors that can help our society meet our energy needs,” stated Richard Kaner from UCLA’s chemistry department—a pioneer alongside his team members Musibau Francis Jimoh Gray Carson Mackenzie Anderson contributing decades-long expertise towards advancing conducting polymers globally since doctoral studies under Nobel laureates Alan MacDiarmid Alan Heeger recognizing breakthroughs within this field earlier years ago already noted historical significance then itself likewise continues today further still hereafter accordingly indeed overall contextually speaking thereby ultimately naturally so forth...