Fabrication of 3-D Nanodimensioned Electric Double Layer Capacitor Structures Using Block Copolymer Templates

The need for materials for high energy storage has led to very significant research in supercapacitor systems. These can exhibit electrical double layer phenomena and capacitances up to hundreds of F/g. Here, we demonstrate a new supercapacitor fabrication methodology based around the microphase separation of PS-b-PMMA which has been used to copper nanoelectrodes of dimension ∼13 nm. These structures provide excellent capacitive performance with a maximum specific capacitance of ∼836 F/g for a current density of 8.06 A/g at a discharge current as high as 75 mA. The excellent performance is due to a high surface area: volume ratio. We suggest that this highly novel, easily fabricated structure might have a number of important applications.