Collaboration Opportunity: Scalable Production of 3D Graphene from Coal/Petroleum Pitch for Advanced Energy Applications

Opportunity:

NETL is seeking collaboration to further develop and commercialize a method for using coal pitch or petroleum pitch for making an electrically conductive, porous, 3-dimensional (3D) graphene material that can be used as a sorbent, supercapacitor electrode, or electrochemical electrode/sensor.  The manufacturing method also allows for recovery, regeneration, and reuse of the K2CO3 chemical activating agent used to synthesize the graphene material. 

Background:

Despite graphene being considered an ideal material for electrochemical electrode applications, its use in commercial devices is limited because few methods exist to produce high-quality graphene at a large scale and low cost. Several fabrication techniques have been reported for 3D graphene but these methods are often limited by the complexity of the procedure, cost and/or availability of feedstocks, mass yield of the product, and/or the quality of 3D graphene produced.  As such, there is a need for simple, low cost, scalable methods that can utilize abundant, domestic, manufacturing feedstocks for making 3D graphene and utilizing this material to fabricate electrodes for supercapacitors, electrochemical cells, electrochemical sensors, and other related devices. 

Description:

NETL researchers developed a process for producing a few-layer, 3D graphene, material with high electrical conductivity, high internal surface area and pore volume, low density of O-containing functional groups and surface defects, and a hierarchical interconnected network of pores ranging in size from 0.5 nanometers up to 500 microns.  The manufacturing method involves a pyrolysis process using mixtures of coal tar pitch or petroleum pitch with a K2CO3 chemical activating agent.  The manufacturing method allows for recovery, regeneration, and reuse of the K2CO3 activating agent without causing negative impacts on the 3D graphene quality, 3D graphene product yield, or overall process efficiency for manufacturing 3D graphene.  When high mass loading supercapacitor electrodes are fabricated with this 3D graphene, the devices have ~50% improvement in specific capacitance, 50% improvement in areal capacitance, and 48% improvement in gravimetric energy density relative to devices fabricated with commercial electrode materials.  The material characteristics of the 3D graphene indicate it can also be used for a range of sorbent applications, electrochemical electrode applications, electrochemical energy storage device applications, and electrochemical sensor applications.

Advantages/Benefits: 

• Simple manufacturing method
• Recovery, regeneration, reuse of chemical activating agents
• High quality, 3D graphene, product
• Low cost, domestic, feedstocks.

Potential Applications: 

• Supercapacitor electrodes
• Zinc ion and lithium ion hybrid capacitor electrodes
• Lithium sulfur battery electrodes
• Zinc iodine battery electrodes
• Carbon electrode in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
• Carbon electrode in electrochemical sensors
• Sorbents for water, fluid, or gas purification and processing

Development Status: 

Current stage of technology development: TRL ☐ 0-2     ☒ 3-5     ☐ 5-9

NETL has filed for patent protection on this invention.

NETL is seeking industry partners with ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our partners gain a competitive edge in the marketplace through licensing and/or cooperative research and development collaborations. Interested parties can discuss this opportunity under non-disclosure agreements to protect company proprietary information. 

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Entities interested in developing technologies for manufacturing graphite should provide an electronic or written statement of interest, which includes the following:

1. Company Name and Address
2. The name, address and telephone number of a point of contact
3. A description of the relevant expertise and/or facilities

Please provide a complete statement to ensure consideration of your interest in this opportunity.

The subject heading in an email response should reference "NETL 23N-13" and be directed to Partnerships@NETL.doe.gov.