Study of super dielectric material for novel paradigm capacitors

Abstract

This study investigates the applicability of super dielectric material (SDM) theory to a new variety of Novel Paradigm Supercapacitors (NPS), punched layer (PL) SDM parallel plate capacitors, by testing several variants of PL-SDM structure and saturation designed to theoretically optimize capacitor performance. The capacitors were made of PL-SDM, composed of a microporous insulator saturated in an ion dense solution, sandwiched between high-purity graphite electrodes. A commercial galvanostat employed a constant current test protocol of i) constant current charge, ii) constant voltage hold, and iii) constant current discharge (CHD) to measure capacitor performance: total energy and power, energy and power density, capacitance, and dielectric constant. The results show PL-SDM structure, constructed to increase dipole density and length, improves total energy and power, capacitance, and dielectric constant while PL-SDM saturation has a negligible effect on capacitor performance, demonstrating that only a minimum volume of solution is required to achieve optimal performance. CHD protocol of increased hold times (10, 200, 400, 600 [s]) did not produce the intended effect of increased capacitance; this is theorized to be due to hold durations exceeding the required time to maximize dipole length. In conclusion, SDM theory provides a basis for further investigation of PL-SDM capacitor improvement.