Theses and Dissertations Collection

Auxetic materials are substances exhibiting negative compressibility or negative Poisson ratios. It has been theorized that this phenomenon occurs in ceramic materials via a method of rotating polyhedrons. We hypothesize that these rotating polyhedrons lead to higher stability of materials in electrochemical systems and that this same mechanism allows for greater energy storage capacity. From molecular modeling simulations, we determined zirconium tungstate (ZrW2O8) to be a promising candidate for experimentation. Mixed oxide nanostructured arrays were formed on the surface of the material by anodization. Several tests including cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Mott-Schottky analysis were performed on the mixed oxide to characterize the material and its capacitance. Several annealing temperatures, two different anodization potentials, three different electrolytes, and a process involving cycling the material one thousand times were all conditions used to determine the best method of production that would lead to the greatest capacitance of the mixed oxide.