This study examines paraelectric Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (BZN), which has no hysteresis and high dielectric strength, for energy density capacitor applications. To increase the breakdown dielectric strength of the BZN film further, poly(vinylidene fluoride) BZN-PVDF composite film is fabricated by aerosol deposition. The volume ratio of each composition is calculated using dielectric constant of each composition, and we find that it was 12:88 vol% (BZN:PVDF). To modulate the structure and dielectric properties of the ferroelectric polymer PVDF, the composite film is heat-treated at 200 oC for 5 and 30 minutes following quenching. The amount of α-phase in the PVDF increases with an increasing annealing time, which in turn decreases the dielectric constant and dielectric loss. The breakdown dielectric strength of the BZN film increases by mixing PVDF. However, the breakdown field decreases with an increasing annealing time. The BZN-PVDF composite film has the energy density of 4.9 J/cm3, which is larger than that of the pure BZN film of 3.6 J/cm3.

Lithium-ion batteries have been considered the most important devices to power mobile or small-sized devices due to their high energy density. LixCoO2 has been studied as a cathode material for the Li-ion battery. However, the limitation of its capacity impedes the development of high capacity cathode materials with Ni, Mn, etc. in them. The substitution of Mn and Ni for Co leads to the formation of solid solution phase LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2 (NMC, both x and y < 1), which shows better battery performance than unsubstituted LiCoO2. However, despite a high discharge capacity in the Ni-rich compound (Ni > 0.8 in the metal site), poor cycle retention capability still remains to be overcome. In this study, aiming to improve the stability of the physical and chemical bonding, we investigate the stabilization effect of Ca in the Ni-rich layered compound Li(Ni0.83Co0.12Mn0.05)O2, and then Ca is added to the modified secondary particles to lower the degree of cationic mixing of the final particles. For the optimization of the final grains added with Ca, the Ca content (x = 0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 at.%) versus Li is analyzed.

Activated carbons (ACs) have been used as electrode materials of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC) due to their high specific surface areas (SSA), stability, and ecological advantages. In order to make high-energy-density ACs for EDLC, petroleum pitch (PP) precarbonized at 500–1000°C in N2 gas for 1 h was used as the electrode material of the EDLC after KOH activation. As the pre-carbonization temperature increased, the SSA, pore volume and gravimetric capacitance tended to decrease, but the crystallinity and electrode density tended to increase, showing a maximum volumetric capacitance at a medium carbonization temperature. Therefore, it was possible to control the crystalline structure, SSA, and pore structure of AC by changing the pre-carbonization temperature. Because the electrode density increased with increasing of the pre-carbonization temperature, the highest volumetric capacitance of 28.4 F/cc was obtained from the PP pre-carbonized at 700°C, exhibiting a value over 150% of that of a commercial AC (MSP-20) for EDLC. Electrochemical activation was observed from the electrodes of PP as they were pre-carbonized at high temperatures above 700°C and then activated by KOH. This process was found to have a significant effect on the specific capacitance and it was demonstrated that the higher charging voltage of EDLC was, the greater the electrochemical activation effect was.

Flexible BaTiO3 films as dielectric materials for high energy density capacitors were deposited on polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The growth behavior, microstructure and electrical properties of theflexible BaTiO3 films were dependent on the sputtering pressure during sputtering. The RMS roughness and crystallite size ofthe BaTiO3 increased with increasing sputtering pressure. All BaTiO3 films had an amorphous structure, regardless of thesputtering pressures, due to the low PET substrate temperature. The composition of films showed an atomic ratio (Ba:Ti:O)of 0.9:1.1:3. The electrical properties of the BaTiO3 films were affected by the microstructure and roughness. The BaTiO3 filmsprepared at 100mTorr exhibited a dielectric constant of ~80 at 1kHz and a leakage current of 10−8A at 400kV/cm. Also, filmsshowed polarization of 8µC/cm2 at 100kV/cm and remnant polarization (Pr) of 2µC/cm2. This suggests that sputter depositedflexible BaTiO3 films are a promising dielectric that can be used in high energy density capacitors owing to their high dielectricconstant, low leakage current and stable preparation by sputtering.

TiO2 thin films for high energy density capacitors were prepared by r.f. magnetron sputtering at room temperature.Flexible PET (Polyethylene terephtalate) substrate was used to maintain the structure of the commercial film capacitors. Theeffects of deposition pressure on the crystallization and electrical properties of TiO2 films were investigated. The crystal structureof TiO2 films deposited on PET substrate at room temperature was unrelated to deposition pressure and showed an amorphousstructure unlike that of films on Si substrate. The grain size and surface roughness of films decreased with increasing depositionpressure due to the difference of mean free path. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed the formation ofchemically stable TiO2 films. The dielectric constant of TiO2 films was significantly changed with deposition pressure. TiO2films deposited at low pressure showed high dissipation factor due to the surface microstructure. The dielectric constant anddissipation factor of films deposited at 70mTorr were found to be 100~120 and 0.83 at 1kHz, respectively. The temperaturedependence of the capacitance of TiO2 films showed the properties of class I ceramic capacitors. TiO2 films deposited at10~30mTorr showed dielectric breakdown at applied voltage of 7V. However, the films of 500~300nm thickness depositedat 50 and 70mTorr showed a leakage current of ~10−8~10−9 A at 100 V.

The electrochemical performances of an asymmetric hybrid capacitor were investigated using LiFePO4 as the positive electrode and active carbon fibers(ACF) as the negative electrode. The electrochemical behaviors of a nonaqueous hybrid capacitor were characterized by constant current charge/discharge test. The specific capacitance using LiFePO4/ACF electrode turned out to be 0.87F/cm2 and the unit cell showed excellent cycling performance. This hybrid capacitor was able to deliver a specific energy as high as 178 Wh/kg at a specific power of 1,068 W/kg.