  Current supercapacitors present several distinct limitations that severely
inhibit the efficiency, power, and electrical capacitance of energy storage
devices. Supercapacitors present an exciting prospect that has countless
applications in renewable energy storage and modern day electronic devices. In
recent years the exciting development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has presented
an advantage in electrode development. CNTs, however beneficial for their
increased electrode surface area, have severe limitations regarding
conductivity and electrode density. Creating a nanocomposite hybrid out of a
transition metal-oxide and carbon nanotube array would help the current
limitations of the modern supercapacitor. TiO2 was chosen for its common
occurrence in everyday materials and promising capacitance levels. A
multi-walled carbon nanotube array was grown on a SiO2 precursor via CCVD. The
transition metal oxide was then deposited via RF Sputtering methods to a MWCNT
array. Recharge tests and characterization were conducted using scanning
capacitance microscopy (SCM). While these tests are preliminary, this novel
hybrid electrode represents an exciting prospect for the future of the
efficiency of electrochemical energy storage as well as an advance towards a
future of providing inexpensive energy storage solutions around the world.
