Fractal-Based Electrolytic Capacitor Electrodes: Scaling Behavior with Respect to Fractal Order and Complexity

TL;DR

This paper investigates how fractal patterns influence the capacitance of laser scribed graphene supercapacitor electrodes, revealing exponential and non-linear scaling laws related to fractal order and complexity.

Contribution

It introduces the first analysis of capacitance scaling laws in fractal-based supercapacitor electrodes, linking fractal order to electrochemical performance.

Findings

Capacitance scales exponentially with fractal order for open structures.

Hausdorff dimension correlates with the exponential scaling exponent.

Non-linear relationships between capacitance and fractal order are influenced by inter-plate effects.

Abstract

In past decades, the application of fractals to electrode design for enhanced signaling and electrochemical performance was a popular subject and enabled the growth of consumer micro-electronics. Supercapacitors, which are energy storage devices with many promising characteristics, have largely grown alongside of such developments in electronics, but little work has been done to use fractal electrodes in supercapacitors. In this work, plane-filling and fractal patterns were used in designing laser scribed graphene supercapacitor electrodes, allowing the scaling laws of capacitance with respect to fractal order and complexity to be examined for the first time. An interesting exponential relationship between capacitance and fractal order for the more open structured fractals was observed, the exponent of which was proportional to the Hausdorff dimension. Additional non-linear relationships between capacitance and order were observed for other structures which was correlated with inter-plate repulsion and differences in path length. These findings provide the first step in maximizing the efficiency of fractal-based electrolytic devices by exploring the non-intuitive trends in capacitance with respect to fractal order and complexity.