Titanium sponge on titanium substrate for titanium electrolytic capacitor anodes

Capacitors are energy storage devices capable of supplying electric energy. Volumetric and gravimetric energy storage efficiencies are some of the important criteria for evaluating electrolytic capacitors as energy storage devices. High energy density capacitors can be achieved by anodic growth of a dielectric film on surface enhanced valve-metal. Electrodes with high surface area accessible along with wide and short conduction paths (electrolyte) have advantages as power devices. Surface-enhanced metal substrates can be made by various methods. One method is by oxidation followed by reduction.; Oxidation of a metal and reduction of oxide are generally associated with volume changes. During growth of an oxide scale on a metal substrate, the volume expansion of an attached oxide scale can only occur in the thickness direction. During subsequent reduction of the oxide volume shrinkage occurs. It can take place along all directions, in particular in the plane of the oxide scale. This shrinkage leads to pores in the metal layer that is formed by the reduction of the oxide scale. Therefore, a layer of titanium sponge can be obtained by the oxidation plus reduction method. The titanium sponge layer can be anodized in order to grow a thin dielectric film on the surface of the sponge metal. In this way it is made into a capacitor anode.; Reduction of titanium oxide scale with magnesium or calcium produces titanium sponge with different morphologies. Magnesium-reduced sponge has a higher degree of porosity than calcium-reduced sponge. The different morphologies of the reduced oxide scale result from different reduction behaviors in the presence of magnesium or calcium. Possible mechanisms are suggested to explain how magnesium and calcium affect the reduction behavior of titanium oxide.; Because titanium anodic films tend to have high leakage current, titanium is not used for commercial electrolytic capacitor anodes. Nitrogen and oxygen doping of titanium surface layer enables the growth of a doped anodic titanium film and can decrease leakage current of titanium anodic film. Leakage current of titanium anodic film decreases with higher [N + O] doping level. TEM micrograph shows that such doped titanium anodic film has an improved micro-structure.