一種具有出色儲能潛力的植物型超級電容器，有可能為電動汽車鋪平道路，在幾分鐘內就能充電，克服了廣泛采用的障礙之一，并且對司機和環境有益。

　　A plant-based supercapacitor with excellent energy storage potential could pave the way for electric vehicles to be recharged in a few minutes, overcoming one of the barriers to widespread adoption and benefiting drivers and the environment.

　　超級電容器幾乎可以在瞬間充電，并在需要時釋放出巨大的能量，是一種具有巨大潛力的儲能技術。我們已經看到了一些有趣的進展，用可持續材料制造設備，包括循環利用的塑料瓶、甚至廢棄的煙頭。

　　Supercapacitor can be charged almost instantaneously and release huge energy when needed. It is a kind of energy storage technology with great potential. We've seen some interesting developments in making equipment from sustainable materials, including recycled plastic bottles and even discarded cigarette butts.

　　德克薩斯農工大學的團隊希望利用一種天然聚合物，這種稱為木質素的聚合物賦予植物和樹木以剛性，這是由造紙行業作為廢品大量生產的，實際上我們已經看到了一些有趣的突破，努力將這種聚合物回收到其他產品中，例如更堅固的混凝土和3D打印的生物漿。

　　The team at Texas A & M University wants to take advantage of a natural polymer, called lignin, that gives plants and trees rigidity, which is produced in large quantities by the paper industry as waste. In fact, we have seen some interesting breakthroughs in trying to recycle this polymer into other products, such as stronger concrete and 3D printed bio pulp.

　　然而，新研究的作者希望用它來為一種用于超級電容器電極的材料--二氧化錳。與其他解決方案相比，這種化合物的納米顆粒提供了許多好處，但電化學性能是它們傾向于下降的地方。

　　However, the authors of the new study hope to use it as a material for supercapacitor electrodes, manganese dioxide. The nanoparticles of this compound offer many benefits over other solutions, but the electrochemical performance is where they tend to decline.

　　“與其他過渡金屬氧化物(如釕或氧化鋅)相比，二氧化錳更便宜，可獲得性豐富，而且更安全，這些過渡金屬氧化物被普遍用于制造電極，”研究作者梁宏說。“但二氧化錳的一個主要缺點是它的導電性較低。”

　　"Compared with other transition metal oxides, such as ruthenium or zinc oxide, manganese dioxide is cheaper, more available and safer, and these transition metal oxides are commonly used to make electrodes," said study author Liang Hong. "But one of the main disadvantages of manganese dioxide is its low conductivity."

　　此前的研究表明，木質素與金屬氧化物的結合可以提升超級電容器電極的電性能，但該團隊希望研究如何能具體增強二氧化錳的功能。于是他們設計了一種超級電容器，其中這兩種成分構成了關鍵的構件。

　　Previous studies have shown that the combination of lignin and metal oxides can improve the electrical properties of supercapacitor electrodes, but the team hopes to study how to specifically enhance the function of manganese dioxide. So they designed a supercapacitor, and these two components make up the key components.

　　該團隊首先在普通消毒劑中凈化木質素，然后施加熱量和壓力，使液體分解，使二氧化錳沉積在木質素上。然后用這種混合物涂覆鋁板形成電極，再與另一個由鋁和活性炭制成的電極配對形成超級電容器，中間夾著凝膠電解質。

　　The team first purified the lignin in a common disinfectant, then applied heat and pressure to decompose the liquid, causing manganese dioxide to deposit on the lignin. The mixture was then coated with aluminum plates to form electrodes, then paired with electrodes made of aluminum and activated carbon to form supercapacitors, sandwiched with gel electrolytes.

　　研究人員介紹說，這種新裝置輕巧、靈活、成本效益高，增加了其作為汽車結構儲能元件的潛力。他們還報告說，它在測試中經受住了極好的考驗，發現它具有“非常穩定的電化學特性”，并且在數千次循環中保持了存儲電荷的能力。

　　The new device is lightweight, flexible and cost-effective, which increases its potential as an energy storage component for automotive structures, the researchers said. They also report that it has stood an excellent test in tests and found that it has "very stable electrochemical properties" and maintains the ability to store charges over thousands of cycles.

　　在電容方面，超級電容器的表現都優于那些電極完全由活性炭制成的超級電容器，或石墨烯與其他材料結合的超級電容器，這通常被用于衡量該器件存儲電荷的指標。當與一種采用二硒化錫制成的電極的超級電容器相比，新裝置提供的電容是其900倍。

　　In terms of capacitance, supercapacitors perform better than those whose electrodes are made entirely of activated carbon or graphene combined with other materials, which is usually used to measure the storage charge of the device. When compared with a supercapacitor with electrodes made of tin selenide, the new device offers 900 times more capacitance.