Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber webs (CNFWs) with high surface areas are successfully prepared by carbonization-activation of polypyrrole nanofiber webs with KOH. The as-obtained CNFWs exhibit a superhigh reversible capacity of 943 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 2 A g(-1) even after 600 cycles, which is ascribed to the novel porous nanostructure and high-level nitrogen doping.

HIGHLIGHTS • The traditional and novel etching methods are summarized and compared, especially fluorine-free method. The methods for accelerating exfoliation of Ti 3 C 2 T x are classified. • The energy storage mechanisms of Ti 3 C 2 T x in different electrolytes are compared. Based on energy storage mechanisms, the influencing factors of morphology and surface functional groups are discussed.

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Three types of MnO2 nanostructures, viz., α-MnO2 nanotubes, hollow β-MnO2 bipyramids, and solid β-MnO2 bipyramids, have been synthesized via a simple template-free hydrothermal method. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements demonstrate that the hollow β-MnO2 bipyramids exhibit the highest specific capacity and the best cyclability; the capacity retains 213 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 100 mA g(-1) after 150 cycles. XRD patterns of the lithiated β-MnO2 electrodes clearly show the expansion of lattice volume caused by lithiation, but the structure keeps stable during lithium insertion/extraction process. We suggest that the excellent performance for β-MnO2 can be attributed to its unique electrochemical reaction, compact tunnel-structure and hollow architecture. The hollow architecture can accommodate the volume change during charge/discharge process and improve effective diffusion paths for both lithium ions and electrons.

Carbon nanotube spaced graphene aerogel has been prepared by a hydrothermal method and used for supercapacitor applications. The specific surface area and specific capacitance can be controlled by tuning the amount of added carbon nanotubes. The as-prepared composite aerogel keeps the advantage of aerogel structure in providing macropores to ensure electrodes fast wetted by the electrolyte ions, and also possesses additional mesopores created by the carbon nanotube spacers for more ion adsorption. Benefited from that, the composite aerogel exhibit significantly enhanced supercapacitor properties in both aqueous and ionic liquid electrolyte. Compared with graphene aerogels, the composite aerogels show a 37 % © 2014. This manuscript version is made available under the Elsevier user license http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/ 2 larger specific capacitance of 245.5 F g -1 at a current density of 2.5 A g -1 , and high rate capability of 197.0 F g -1 at a high current density of 80 A g -1 in aqueous electrolyte. Moreover, the composite aerogels also deliver a 33 % larger specific capacitance of 183.3 F g -1 at 0.5 A g -1 and a high energy density of 80 Wh kg -1 when using an ionic liquid (EMIMBF 4 ) as the electrolyte.

We have successfully assembled graphene nanosheets into spherical shells using polystyrene spheres as templates. Compared with stacked planar graphene, the as-prepared graphene spherical shells have more free space in between the spheres, which results in a larger accessible surface area for adsorption of electrolyte ions in supercapacitors. Electrochemical tests show that the graphene hollow spheres exhibit a high specific capacitance of 273 F g À1 and excellent electrochemical stability.

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The graphene material prepared by the chemical reduction method usually has oxygenic functional groups in it and such functional groups often result in interactions between the graphene electrode and the electrolyte in supercapacitors. We have examined the existential form of interactions between graphene as the electrode and three kinds of ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (EMI-TFSI), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI-BF 4), and 1-methyl-1-propylpiperidinium bis (trifluoromethyl sulfonyl) imide (MPPp-TFSI), as the electrolyte of a supercapacitor. Mass spectroscopy (MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analyses confirmed that the residual hydroxyl groups in graphene were transferred to EMI + and TFSIlost oxygen atoms to graphene, while little reaction took place in BF 4 or MPPp + , during the process of charging. The chemical reactions are suggested to contribute to the device capacitance while it is also one of the reasons for the decreased electrochemical stability window. In this study the highest energy density achieved using the graphene electrode is 169 Wh kg-1 in MPPp-TFSI electrolyte charged to 4.4 V.