TOPIC 2-01 - New inorganic-polymer composite materials for the positive electrode of asymmetric supercapacitors 

Supercapacitors are high power energy storage devices that are able to fulfill specific energy storage/harvesting application requirements in the fields of space, aircrafts, transportation and smart grids. The involvement into the smart grides is particularly important to take the best benefit of the intermittent renewable energies provided by sun or wind. An important research line, aiming at increasing both energy and power densities, is devoted to asymmetric devices including a transition metal oxide based electrode (positive electrode) and an activated carbon based (C) electrode (negative electrode). Among them, the MnO2/C system is the most promising since it withstands hundreds of thousands of cycles, exhibits low cost and is environmental friendly - especially because of the aqueous based electrolyte used in such devices. Nevertheless, Mn02 suffers from both poor electronic and ionic conductivity, which limits the perfomances between the pseudo-capacitive properties brought by MnO2 and the excellent ionic and electronic conductivity properties of ambivalent copolymers. These nanocomposites which will be subsequently put in form as electrodes, or directly developed as monolithic all in one electrodes, meeting the requirements of high power cycling of supercapacitors.

This project gathers 2 fully complementary partners, ICMCB and LCPO, which are expert in the field of inogarnic materials for energy storage devices, and conductive polymers respectively, and will ensure the co-direction of the thesis, thus fitting with the multdisciplinary approach of the project. IPREM (Delphine Flahaut, Univ Pau) and CIRIMAT (Pierre Louis Taberna, Toulouse) will be inserted in the consortium, for advanced characterization of the materials: surface and inorganic-polymer interface characterization (XPS, Auger) for IPREM and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as well as Ultramicroelectrode for CIRIMAT.

Supervisor(s) contact
GUERLOU-DEMOURGUES Liliane (ICMCB) liliane.guerlou-demourgues@icmcb.cnrs.fr

 BROCHON Cyril (LCPO) cyril.brochon@enscbp.fr