Observations on Arrhenius Degradation of Lithium-Ion Capacitors

Earlier research determined that lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) cycle life degradation can be accelerated by elevated temperature. LIC cycle life degradation can be described by an Arrhenius equation. This study performed cycle life testing at a constant temperature but varied cycle current. The results were described by an Arrhenius equation relying upon the number of cycles and a constant, which was determined by cycle current. Using mathematical derivations and experimental results, the researchers quantified the effects of activation energy and temperature upon this constant. Because cell temperature is nearly constant during cycles, it was deduced that elevated cycle current decreases activation energy. This lower activation energy then accelerates degradation. Thus this research demonstrates that cycle current ages LICs through its effects on their activation energies.

Improvements to Temperature, Warburg Impedance, and Voltage Computations for a Design-Based Predictive Model for Lithium-Ion Capacitors

An earlier study manipulated the Butler-Volmer equation to effectively model a lithium-ion capacitor’s (LIC) energy storage as a function of its constituent components and charge current. However, this model had several shortcomings: computed temperature values were too low, voltage was inaccurate, and the model required Warburg impedance values that were two orders of magnitude higher than experimental results. This study began by analyzing the model’s temperature and voltage computations in order to justify output values. Ultimately, these justifications failed. Therefore, in situ temperature rise was measured during charge cycles. Experimental results indicated that temperature increases minimally during a charge cycle (<1%). At high current densities (≥150 A·kg-1) temperature increase is negligible. After it was found that LIC temperature change is minimal during a charge cycle, the model accurately computed LIC voltage during the charge cycle and computed Warburg impedance that agreed with values derived from earlier experimental studies, even falling within the measurements’ precision error.