Ankur Gupta, along with his research team, has unveiled a novel technology capable of charging a depleted laptop or phone within a minute or an electric car within 10 minutes.
As detailed in their publication in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers unveiled insights into the movement of tiny charged particles, referred to as ions, within a intricate network of minuscule pores.
Gupta, who serves as an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States, expressed that this advancement has the potential to pave the way for the creation of enhanced energy storage devices, such as ‘supercapacitors’.
Gupta emphasized that the significance of the discovery extends beyond energy storage in vehicles and electronic devices to encompass power grids. In these grids, efficient storage is crucial to prevent wastage during periods of low demand and ensure rapid delivery during high demand.
He highlighted that supercapacitors, which rely on ion accumulation within their pores, offer fast charging times and longer lifespans compared to batteries.
Researchers noted that the primary advantage of supercapacitors lies in their speed. Prior to this study, ion movements were only described in the literature within a single straight pore.
This breakthrough enables the simulation and prediction of ion flow within a complex network of thousands of interconnected pores in a matter of minutes, according to the researchers.