ULTRA CAPACITORS BASED ON HIGH SURFACE AREA NITRIDE/CARBIDE ELECTRODES

Recent developments in catalyst technology have led to new routes for the preparation of high surface area (HSA) early transition metal nitrides. These materials have physical and chemical properties which make them interesting candidates for use as electrodes in high energy density electrolytic capacitors. Among the properties of interest are electrical conductivity, chemical stability, and themal stability. In this proposal we will explore the feasibility of adapting catalyst preparation techniques to produce a laboratory prototype capacitor based on HSA molybdenum nitride anodes. High surface area molybdenum nitride anodes will be prepared via the topotactic reaction of the oxide with NH3 . The dielectric oxide layers will be formed by anodization and solid electrolytes will be used in the Phase I laboratory prototype. Electrical evaluation will include determination of capacitance, effective series resistance, leakage current, energy storage density, and temperature stability. During the course of this research the materials will also be examined to determine their surface areas (gas absorption), surface moiphologies (SEM), and film thicknesses (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy). The Phase II program will emphasize materials optimization and packaging design.