3D fractals as perfect electrodes

[msltoe]

One thing I've been reading up on lately is supercapacitors. Unlike rechargeable batteries, they have the ability to release bursts of energy, can be charged very quickly (imagine charging an electric car up at the gas station in a few minutes) and can be reused 1000's of times with little degradation. So far though, commercial supercaps are more than 10 times less energy dense than a battery - so it would be quite heavy to get a car traveling a 300-mile range before recharging.

There are a few things that could be optimized in supercapacitors. But, relevant here, is the shape of the electrodes. The more surface area, the better. That's why porous, foam-like, graphite is popular. Researcher are also excited by crumpled up graphene. Another constraint is that the space between the surfaces allow the in and out flow of ions. Interestingly, the positive ions and negative ions will be different sizes in what is so far the best solvent, ionic liquids.

3-D Fractals to the rescue? Also, how does one induce fractal growth with the natural process of self-assembly? Or use an iterative additive/subtractive approach?