Supercapacitors: Review of Materials and Fabrication Methods

Supercapacitors are considered to be promising candidates for power devices in future generations. These devices are expected to find many future applications in hybrid electric vehicles and other power devices and systems. For supercapacitors to realize their promise, it is important that their energy and power densities be maximized. An important way to address this is to develop advanced electrode materials and methods to fabricate these materials. The recent years have seen enormous interest in the research of numerous materials and methods for their synthesis for applications in supercapacitor electrode technology. In the constantly changing technological landscape, it is relevant to review the various aspects of supercapacitor devices. This review paper gives an overview of the types of supercapacitors. It describes the advanced materials and fabrication methods for these devices, including recent developments in these areas, and their implications on the future of supercapacitor technology. The paper also addresses the principal technological challenges facing the development efforts in the future. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.