Process for producing highly activated electrode through electro-activation
AssigneeControlamatics Corporation
InventorsDino Favetta, Tao Chen, Eric P. Boon
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Abstract
A method for treating a carbonaceous biochar electrode with an applied electric potential and resulting electric current, while submerged in an electrolyte, is disclosed in order to increase the biochar electrode's pore surface area and pore hierarchy, to affect a cleaning of unwanted materials and compounds from within the electrode and to optionally plate materials onto the surface pores of the electrode, such as graphene or metals, thus increasing the energy storage capacity of the biochar electrode when used in an energy storage device. Exemplary applications include electrodes for ultra-capacitors, pseudo-capacitors, batteries, fuel cells and other absorbing and desorbing applications.
Claims23
A method comprising:
- providing a net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer consisting of biochar, wherein the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer includes wafer surfaces and pores, wherein the pores include pore surfaces, and wherein one or more organic moieties reside within the pores and at the pore surfaces;
- connecting the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer to a current conducting fastener;
- providing a counter electrode;
- submerging the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer and the counter electrode in an aqueous salt bath;
- applying a voltage between 1.65 volts and 5.5 volts across the current conducting fastener and the counter electrode so as to induce a direct current to the submerged net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer, wherein the polarity of the applied voltage is cycled for three or more cycles for at least two minutes per cycle, to carry out electrolysis so as to hydrolyze water molecules in the aqueous salt bath, thereby (i) generating hydrogen gas, (ii) generating hydrogen ions, (iii) generating oxygen gas, (iv) generating hydroxyl ions based on a reaction of hydroxyl ions generated by hydrolysis of the water molecules with salt in the aqueous salt bath, and (v) electrolyzing the one or more organic moieties within the pores and at the pore surfaces of the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer;
- whereby the electrolysis is carried out so as to remove the one or more organic moieties from the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer at least in part based on bubbling of the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas through the pores of the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer, and
- whereby carbon generated by electrolysis of the one or more organic moieties bonds to at least one of the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer surfaces and the pore surfaces to define an additive carbonaceous structure thereon;
- thereby electro-activating the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer, increasing active and usable total surface area of the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer and increasing electrical and chemical absorbency of the net-shaped monolithic electrode wafer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.