Review of Recent Patents on Carbon Nanotube Based Electrodes for use in Supercapacitor Applications

Interest in energy storage has escalated in recent years. As energy storage devices become ingrained into our everyday lives, the need to produce increasingly effective mechanisms for the storage of energy becomes readily apparent. New materials science and an ever increasing body of energy storage knowledge have set the stage for a rapid growth in this field. This review focuses on one energy storage device now finding its way into various devices and electric vehicles; the supercapacitor. The following discusses recently patented designs and developments of supercapacitors; and more specifically, the various electrodes that utilized carbon nanotubes and other activated carbons. These devices have higher capacitances and power densities than other capacitors, but still lack the energy density necessary to compete with batteries in larger energy storage markets. However, other superior characteristics of supercapacitors have allowed them to find specific uses in area such as hybrid and electric vehicles, and offshore wind turbines. Keywords: EDLC, energy storage, nanotube, pseudocapacitor, supercapacitor, ultracapacitor.