Comparative Study of Vertical and Horizontal Asymmetric Supercapacitors

There is a need for research in energy storage in general, particularly in electrical energy. Energy is necessary for machines to work as per human needs. Availability of energy is uncertain in many scenarios. Energy can be of various forms such as solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, geothermal energy, etc. However, utilization of energy is related to the applications required, type of energy converters, source of energy and more importantly the type of energy storage system. Certain energy storage devices store energy in varying ways and supply to the load as per utilization. Batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors are few examples. However, there arises a need to optimize and improve electrical energy storage devices to suit specific requirements of energy and power density which is decided by the parameters of electrode and electrolytes. Asymmetrical supercapacitors are currently gaining a lot of popularity due to their high energy density and long-life cycle. Asymmetrical supercapacitors will be able to replace some of the electrical energy storage devices in the times to come. Considering the two possible configurations of asymmetrical supercapacitors as in this case the vertical and horizontal electrode configurations, their arrangement alone can make a huge difference in their performance characteristics. Analysis of horizontal and vertical configuration of asymmetrical supercapacitors with binder free electrode material has been presented in this paper. The intent of this research work arises because energy storage devices are constructed with terminals at the top but those with terminals at the side have had limited research and hence have limited commercial use. The two types of horizontal configurations in which the positive electrode is at the top in the first case and at the base in the second case have also been compared.