Nanoporous Ordered Conducting Polymer Ultracapacitors

Conductivity of environmentally stable conducting polymers has been limited due to their synthesis and processing procedures. Due to the nature of their redox reactions, the polymers are not conductive at all times during charge/discharge cycles.Furthermore, the voltage window of their capacitors is small and efforts to increase it have failed due to the poor choice of electrode couples. Our aim is to address the above issues. In Phase I, we will synthesize and characterize nanoporous, highmetallic conductivity polymers which can be oxidized (p-type doping) or reduced (n-type doping) at will. We will combine electrode couples where the oxidation potential of one and the reduction potential of the other are separated by the widest voltagewindow possible through band gap tuning and electrochemistry. The polymers will be synthesized/processed in a way such that metallic conductivity (> 3 orders of magnitude than that yielded by conventional synthesis) is obtained. With nanoporosity andmetallic conductivity, capacitors using organic electrolytes with high capacitance and minimal ESR respectively will be obtained and characterized. These efforts, combined with those of Evans Capacitor Co. for packaging and commercialization, with thelatter being emphasized during the Phase II program, will result in highly competitive technology.In addition to military and commercial burst power, radar and automotive applications, our proposed capacitors will provide a convenient source of power andenergy in a variety of medical and portable consumer electronics.