Article about modern ionistors. Their peculiarity is the ability to give off a large amount of energy in a very small time interval. The device is already widely used in various industries. It is possible that ionistors will soon replace conventional chemical batteries everywhere.
Ionistor (other names: supercapacitor, ultracapacitor, double-layer electrochemical capacitor) is an electrochemical device, a capacitor with organic or inorganic electrolyte, where the "covers" are a double electric layer at the electrode and electrolyte interface. Functionally, it is a hybrid of a capacitor and a chemical current source.
Ionistors or supercapacitors are relatively new. The first such electrical device was patented by General Electric in 1957. The feature of the ionistor is the ability to give off a large amount of energy in a very small time interval. An ordinary capacitor is two plates of metal, between which is a layer of dielectric. And the electrical capacitance of a capacitor directly depends on the area of the plates, which act as electrodes. Since an increase in the size of the plates led to an increase in the device itself, for a long time it was not possible to increase the capacitance of capacitors. However, a solution was found. Thanks to the use of porous materials for the manufacture of electrodes. The pore area of such a plate is tens of times greater than the surface area of an ordinary metal electrode.
After long experiments, the most suitable porous metal was found. It turned out to be an ordinary activated carbon. The next step from the capacitor to the ionistor was to replace the dielectric with a crystalline solid electrolyte based on acid and alkali solutions. When the porous metal interacts with the electrolyte, an electrical double layer of ions and electrons forms on its surface. These charges cannot converge due to the resistance of water molecules and metal ions. Thus, we get a device similar in principle to a capacitor.
However, the distance between the charges, which are essentially electrodes, is much less than the thickness of the dielectric used in a conventional capacitor, so the electrical capacitance of such a device is dozens of times greater. For comparison: the energy of an ordinary capacitor is enough to lift it in the air for about one and a half meters, and the ionistor weighing 0.5 grams can jump due to its charge to as much as 293 meters. When the ionistor is charged, positive ions are formed on one side of the metal pores and electrons are accumulated on the other. In the process of giving energy, they flow smoothly to each other, forming neutral metal atoms. To prevent a complete discharge of the device in this way, a separating layer of a neutral substance (plastic, paper, absorbent cotton, etc.) is applied between the metal layers. The ionistor builds up a charge very quickly and gives it away quickly as well. In addition, it has a number of other advantages:
unlimited number of charge and discharge cycles;
the stored energy has a high density;
the device does not heat up, in contrast to energy carriers, which are based on chemical reactions;
the convenience of charging: when the ionistor is fully charged, it simply stops taking a charge;
withstands temperature from -50 to +85 degrees Celsius;
The ionistor is environmentally friendly;
coefficient of efficiency can reach 98%.
All these advantages allow us to say that the scope of ionistors application is unlimited. They are widely used in computer devices as power sources for memory elements. In microelectronics and radio engineering ionistors are used as short-term powerful current sources and uninterruptible power supplies. Supercapacitors are also used in today's popular new cars with hybrid powertrains to reduce the load on the battery. Ionistors are already being used as battery replacements in many applications. Low-capacity ionistors are installed in cell phones, and particularly high-capacity ones in cars. If you compare them with conventional chemical batteries, the latter lose out on a number of indicators. They are not environmentally safe, have a limited number of charge cycles, take a long time to charge, are prone to overheating. To date, more widespread use of ionic cells is hindered only by their high price. However, manufacturing companies expect to halve it within the next 5 years, using nanotechnology.
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