The project is aiming at the development of electrochemical storage devices, namely multi-celled supercapacitors (SCs), made of double porosified silicon (Si) 4 inch wafers conformally coated with graphene, enabling simultaneous energy management (i.e. storage and delivery) through integration of batteries and SCs to deliver a hybrid energy storage unit. The developed supercapacitor will be able to tackle energy density > 20 Wh·kg-1, and will push the available window potential towards 3.2 V combined with an enhanced life cycle ascribed to reduced formation of solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) due to the graphene conformal coating.

Supercapacitors [1] are ideal for applications demanding high electrical power density delivery (minimum 10 kW∙kg−1), like in the case of energy management in hybrid automobiles, load cranes, or backup power for electric utilities and factories. Using etched porous silicon we aim to develop novel hybrid architectures based on layers of graphene, electrochemically grafted as graphene precursors, thus being able to deliver advanced multi-celled supercapacitors.