New Generation “Nanohybrid Supercapacitor”

Abstract

To meet growing demands for electric automotive and regenerative energy storage applications, researchers all over the world have sought to increase the energy density of electrochemical capacitors. Hybridizing battery-capacitor electrodes can overcome the energy density limitation of the conventional electrochemical capacitors because they employ both the system of a battery-like (redox) and a capacitor-like (double-layer) electrode, producing a larger working voltage and capacitance. However, to balance such asymmetric systems, the rates for the redox portion must be substantially increased to the levels of double-layer process, which presents a significant challenge. An in situ material processing technology called "ultracentrifuging (UC) treatment" has been used to prepare a novel ultrafast Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) nanocrystal electrode for capacitive energy storage. This Account describes an extremely high-performance supercapacitor that utilizes highly optimized "nano-nano-LTO/carbon composites" prepared via the UC treatment. The UC-treated LTO nanocrystals are grown as either nanosheets or nanoparticles, and both have hyperlinks to two types of nanocarbons: carbon nanofibers and supergrowth (single-walled) carbon nanotubes. The spinel structured LTO has been prepared with two types of hyperdispersed carbons. The UC treatment at 75 000G stoichiometrically accelerates the in situ sol-gel reaction (hydrolysis followed by polycondensation) and further forms, anchors, and grafts the nanoscale LTO precursors onto the carbon matrices. The mechanochemical sol-gel reaction is followed by a short heat-treatment process in vacuo. This immediate treatment with heat is very important for achieving optimal crystallization, inhibiting oxidative decomposition of carbon matrices, and suppressing agglomeration. Such nanocrystal composites can store and deliver energy at the highest rate attained to this date. The charge-discharge profiles indicate a very high sustained capacity of 80 mAh g(-1) at an extremely high rate of 1200 C. Using this ultrafast material, we assembled a hybrid device called a "nanohybrid capacitor" that consists of a Faradaic Li-intercalating LTO electrode and a non-Faradaic AC electrode employing an anion (typically BF4(-)) adsorption-desorption process. The "nanohybrid capacitor" cell has demonstrated remarkable energy, power, and cycleability performance as an electrochemical capacitor electrode. It also exhibits the same ion adsorption-desorption process rates as those of standard activated carbon electrodes in electrochemical capacitors. The new-generation "nanohybrid capacitor" technology produced more than triple the energy density of a conventional electrochemical capacitor. Moreover, the synthetic simplicity of the high-performance nanostructures makes it possible to scale them up for large-volume material production and further applications in many other electrochemical energy storage devices.

Electrochemical kinetics of nanostructure LiFePO 4 /graphitic carbon electrodes

“…The synthesis procedure of the LFP/graphitic carbon composite using ultracentrifugation technique [20] was reported elsewhere [18]. The electrochemical tests with CME were performed at room temperature in a mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and diethyl carbonate (DEC) containing 1.0 M of LiPF 6 , which was purchased from KISHIDA CHEMCAL Co., Ltd. (battery grade).…”

Porous nanoarchitectures of spinel-type transition metal oxides for electrochemical energy storage systems

“…28,166 There are two types of SCs: electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) and pseudocapacitors, which are generally classified by their electrode materials because the electrochemical performance of SCs could be determined by the electrode materials. In EDLCs, carbon-based materials, such as activated carbon, mesoporous carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, are widely used for non-faradaic double-layer charging reactions of active species.…”

pH‐Regulated Synthesis of Multi‐Shelled Manganese Oxide Hollow Microspheres as Supercapacitor Electrodes Using Carbonaceous Microspheres as Templates

“…In this regards, MnO x often suffers from a limited long‐term stability because of the partial dissolution in the electrolyte during cycling, which restricts the commercial application of such low‐cost supercapacitor electrode materials 19. However, the construction of multi‐shelled MnO x hollow microspheres is able to noticeably meliorate the cycling performance.…”