Scalable Nanomanufacturing for Energy Storage and Conversion Based on High-Voltage Electrophoretic Deposition

摘要

Nanomaterials can significantly enhance many types of energy storage and conversion devices by providing huge surface reaction area, short diffusion paths, as well as excellent mechanical, electrical and electrochemical properties. However, it has been realized that the exciting performance of nanomaterials demonstrated in lab-scale experiments can lose its edge if the morphology cannot be well controlled and economically scaled up for macroscopic systems. Accordingly, scalable and sustainable nanomanufacturing has been identified as a critical national research need by NSF, DOE, NIST and other federal agencies. In this talk, a room-temperature, scalable process will be introduced to deposit vertically-aligned nanoforests of 1D nanoparticles (e.g., carbon nanotubes and MnO2 nanorods) on large, flexible conductive surfaces in a continuous roll-to-roll-printing manner. The deposition process, named high-voltage electrophoretic deposition (HVEPD), has been enabled by three key elements: polarization by high voltage for alignment, low dispersion concentration of the nanoparticles to avoid aggregation, and simultaneous formation of a holding layer by electrodeposition.