Scientists at an Indian institute are working on pilot-scale production of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) after developing a process for generating functionalised graphene at low cost.
The team at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER) hope the technology will lead to the development of graphene-based supercapacitors for energy storage systems by the end of the year.
A number of prototypes as proof-of-concept have been developed for product validation at IISER Pune and Pune-based company SPEL Technologies.
Researchers estimate the cost of raw chemicals for the production of one gram of rGO to be around INR700 ($10).
A press release stated: “With the production of 500gm quality rGO, 10F and 500F rGO-based supercapacitors having energy density of over 20Wh/kg would be launched by end of 2020, for consumer electronics and electric mobility applications, respectively.”
Dr. Nirmalya Ballav from the Chemistry Department of IISER Pune and his research team have applied for a patent for the technology (Indian Patent Application No. 201621023063).
