Novel compositions of vertically oriented graphene nanosheets on aluminum electrodes are provided. These compositions are particularly useful for advanced electrolytic capacitors and fast response electric double layer capacitors. These compositions include a polycrystalline carbon layer, and an adjacent aluminum oxide layer that does not preclude ohmic contact between the carbon layer and an aluminum substrate.

The present disclosure provides an energy storage cell comprising at least one capacitive energy storage device and a DC-voltage conversion device. The capacitive energy storage device comprises at least one meta-capacitor. The output voltage of the capacitive energy storage device is the input voltage of the DC-voltage conversion device. The present disclosure also provides a capacitive energy storage module and a capacitive energy storage system.

Structures, including a capacitor, and methods for forming the structures are provided. One such structure may include a first conductor a second conductor above the first conductor, and a dielectric between the first conductor and the second conductor. The dielectric does not cover a portion of the first conductor; and the second conductor does not cover the portion of the first conductor not covered by the dielectric. Other structures and methods are disclosed.

A solid electrolytic capacitor that comprises a sintered porous anode, a dielectric layer that overlies the anode body, and a solid electrolyte overlying the dielectric layer is provided. The solid electrolyte comprises a conductive polymer and a nonionic surfactant having a hydrophilic/lipophilic balance (“HLB”) of from about 10 to about 20 and a molecular weight of from about 100 to about 10,000 grams per mole. The nonionic surfactant has a hydrophobic base and a hydrophilic chain that contains alkoxy moieties.

A carbon paste including a carbon powder, a resin, and an oxygen releasing oxidizer. The amount of the oxidizer is 3 to 30 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the total amount of the carbon powder and the resin. A solid electrolytic capacitor element is prepared by a method which includes making a valve-action metal powder sintered to obtain an anode body, electrolytically oxidizing a surface of the anode body to chemically convert the surface into a dielectric layer, electrolytic polymerization to form a semiconductor layer of an electro conductive polymer on the dielectric layer, applying the carbon paste onto the semiconductor layer, and drying and hardening the carbon paste to form a carbon layer.

A flexible solar array for extraterrestrial deployment and a method of manufacturing such a flexible solar array are disclosed. A power generating layer, a durable layer, and an ultraviolet radiation blocking layer are disposed such that durable layer is between the power generating layer and the ultraviolet radiation blocking layer.

A blank suitable for use as a body of a supercapacitor comprises a first porous semiconductor volume and a second porous semiconductor volume, the second porous semiconductor volume laterally surrounded by the first porous semiconductor volume and separated from it by a trench that is suitable for receiving an electrolyte, whereby the first and second porous semiconductor volume comprise channels opening to the trench. A supercapacitor comprises a body formed by using the blank according to any one of the preceding claims, so that the first porous semiconductor volume acts as one electrode and the second porous semiconductor volume acts as another electrode, with an electrolyte in the trench.

The invention relates to the rare metal smelting field, and particularly, the present invention relates to a tantalum powder for preparing capacitors and a process for preparing the tantalum powder, and to a sintered anode prepared from the tantalum powder. As to the tantalum powder as provided by the invention, its primary tantalum powder has a BET of from 3.0 to 4.5 m.sup.2/g. After the secondary agglomeration, the tantalum powder has a large particle size. The tantalum powder has an average Fisher sub-sieve size (FSSS) of 1.2 to 3.0 μm wherein as measured with a standard sieve mesh, more than 75% of tantalum powder has a +325-mesh, and a particle size distribution D50 of more than 60 μm, that is, the secondary particle size is high. A resultant capacitor anode prepared by sintering the tantalum powder of the invention at 1200° C. for 20 minutes and then being energized at the voltage of 20 V has the specific capacitance of from 140,000 to 180,000 μFV/g and the residual current of less than 1.0 nA/μFV. Meantime, the invention provides an economical process for making the tantalum powder.

A manufacturing method for a capacitor is provided. The method includes the following steps. A nano carbon material and an electrolyte solution are mixed to obtain an electrolyte composition. A porous substrate is immersed in the electrolyte composition. The electrodes are formed on two opposite surfaces of the porous substrate.

An electrolytic capacitor includes a capacitor element that includes an anode body that has a porous structure, a dielectric layer disposed on a surface of the anode body, and a solid electrolyte layer that covers at least a part of the dielectric layer. The anode body contains a first group metal including at least one selected from the group consisting of tantalum, niobium, titanium, aluminum, and zirconium. The dielectric layer contains an oxide of the first group metal and a second group metal including at least one selected from the group consisting of iron, chromium, copper, silicon, molybdenum, sodium, and nickel. A ratio X of a total number of atoms of the second group metal to a total number of atoms of the first group metal in the dielectric layer is equal to or less than 100 ppm.