Angstron Materials

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Angstron Materials logoAngstron Materials seems to no longer be active on its own - it has been merged into Global Graphene Group (G3).

Angstron was developing and producing nano graphene platelets (NGPs), and also provided pristine graphite and single layer graphene. Angstron was active with Supercapacitors, graphene-modified lubricants, Li-Ion battery materials and graphene-enhanced Polymers.

In 2011, Angstron Materials announced a spin-off company called Angstron Supercapacitor that was formed to produce a new supercapacitor electrode material made from Graphene. However, the company has not since been active as far as we know.

 

Also in 2011, Nanotek Instruments (also under G3) was awarded $1 million by the Ohio Third Frontier Commission to accelerate the commercialization of its nano graphene platelets-based electrode materials for next generation supercapacitors. This is a joint project by Nanotek and its manufacturing company Angstron Materials. In that same year, Nanotek developed a new graphene-based energy storage device - something between a battery and a supercapacitor. The new device is called graphene surface-enabled lithium ion-exchanging cells, or surface-mediated cells (SMCs).

Nanotek says that even the first-generation SMCs (which were not even optimized) feature fast recharge cycles - and already outperform both supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Recharge time was reportedly 10 times faster than supercapacitor and 100 times faster than lithium ion while energy capacity is the same as Li-ion batteries and 30 times higher than conventional supercapacitors.

SMCs got their amazing performance by using a cathode and anode that contain very large graphene surfaces. When fabricating the cell, the researchers put lithium metal (in the form of particles or foil) in the anode. During the first discharge cycle, the lithium is ionized, resulting in a much larger number of lithium ions than in Li-ion batteries. As the battery is used, the ions migrate through a liquid electrolyte to the cathode, where the ions enter the pores and reach the large graphene surface inside the cathode. During recharging, a massive flux of lithium ions quickly migrates from the cathode to the anode. The electrodes’ large surface areas enable the rapid shuttling of large numbers of ions between electrodes, resulting in their high power and energy densities.

The exchange of lithium ions between the porous electrodes’ surfaces (and not in the bulk of the electrode, as in batteries) removes the need for intercalation - a time-consuming process. A few years ago, Nanotek and Angstron commented that it sees a clear path towards commerciailization of SMCs, within a few years. Over 5 years have gone by since, and there is still no known progress regarding this product.

For more information and graphene news from Angstron Materials, see our Global Graphene Group listing.

Company Address

1240 McCook Avenue
Dayton, OH 45404
United States