A new Co-ZIF derived nanoporous cobalt-rich carbons with high-potential-window as high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors

In this work, a Co-ZIF material and the derived nanoporous cobalt-rich carbons by direct carbonization of this Co-ZIF material were synthesized and used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. This ZIF material exhibited a high specific capacitance of 160.3 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹, an excellent rate capability (73.72 F g⁻¹ at 10 A g⁻¹), and a good cycling stability with 100% of its initials specific capacitance after 8000 cycles. In addition, the obtained derived nanoporous carbons displayed ideal capacitor behaviors and were promising electroactive materials for supercapacitors at low current density. The nanoporous carbon obtained at 650 °C possessed a highest specific capacitance of 393 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and a wide potential application range of −1.0–0.33 V. In addition, a symmetric supercapacitor device consisting of Z-C-650 and activated carbon exhibited a maximum energy density of 61.23 Wh Kg⁻¹ at a power density of 700 W kg⁻¹ and predicted that Z-C-650 could be used as a potential energy storage material.     

Electrospun NiO/C nanofibers as electrode materials for hybrid supercapacitors with superior electrochemical performance

In this work, the porous NiO/C nanofibers (NFs) were rationally designed and prepared by a convenient electrospinning method, and followed with a calcination conversion of the precursor in air. The NiO/C composite exhibited a net-like structure that was composed of many intertwined NFs with an average diameter of about 200 nm. The electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the porous NiO/C NFs exhibited an electrochemical feature of battery-type electrode material, and delivered a specific capacity as high as 461.26 C g^?1 under 1 A g^?1 and an excellent rate capability with 82.7% capacity retention at 10 A g^?1. A hybrid supercapacitor (NiO/C NFs//AC HSC) was assembled with NiO/C NFs as positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode, which delivered an energy density of 31.82 W h kg^?1 under a power density of 816.36 W kg^?1 along with an outstanding cyclic stability of 90.9% capacity retention over 5000 cycles at 5 A g^?1. This simple synthetic method can be extended to the fabrication of other transition metal oxides (TMOs)-based NFs for their further applications in high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices such as hybrid supercapacitors, batteries, and so on.     

Walnut shell-derived hierarchical porous carbon with high performances for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution and symmetry supercapacitors

Walnut Shell-derived hierarchical porous carbon has been successfully synthesized by the efficient KOH activation process. The hierarchical porous carbon material activated at 600 °C, has the specific micropore area of 1037.31 m² g⁻¹ and micropore volume of 0.51 cm³ g⁻¹, which leads to have electrochemical performances of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and supercapacitors. Specifically, as the hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalyst, the walnut shell-derived carbon material activated at 600 °C exhibits a lower onset potential of 6.00 mV, a smaller Tafel slope of 69.76 mV dec⁻¹ and outstanding stability above long-term cycling. As a supercapacitor electrode material, the sample possesses specific capacitance of 262.74 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹, the remarkable rate capability of 224.60 F g⁻¹ at even 10 A g⁻¹ and good long-term stability. A symmetric supercapacitor shows the highly energy density of 7.97 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 180.80 W kg⁻¹. This novel and low-cost biomass material is very promising for the electrocatalytic water splitting and supercapacitors.     

A comparative study of various polyelectrolyte/nanocomposite electrode combinations in symmetric supercapacitors

A more practical, nontoxic and cheaper electrolyte, poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) was used to construct supercapacitors with different nanocomposite electrodes. The flexible devices were fabricated including active carbon (AC) electrode and nanocomposites electrodes of AC/nano-silica (nano-SiO₂) and AC/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) at various weight percentages. The symmetrical cell made from AC electrodes generated a maximum specific capacitance (Cs) of 315 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹. The energy density of this device was 55.5 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 690 W kg⁻¹. Excellent performance was achieved after 5000 charge-discharge cycles where the supercapacitor maintains 92% of its activity. The energy storage capability of the supercapacitors was also investigated with the addition of nano-SiO₂ and MWCNTs. The Cs of the supercapacitors made with the electrodes AC/nano-SiO₂ (5%, 10%, 25% and 50%) were 172, 228, 247 and 55 F g⁻¹, respectively. Similarly, the capacity of the device including the electrodes of AC/MWCNTs (5%, 10%, 25% and 50%) varied as 191, 244, 93 and 20 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹. The maximum energy density of the devices having nano-SiO₂ and MWCNT were 44.4 Wh kg⁻¹ and 43.8 Wh kg⁻¹, respectively at a power density of 520 W kg⁻¹. A supercapacitor with certain dimension successfully operated a light-emitting diode (LED).     

Formation of hierarchical 3D cross-linked porous carbon with small addition of graphene for supercapacitors

In the present paper, starch was used as raw material to prepare carbon material with low-temperature hydrothermal route and hierarchical three-dimensional cross-linked porous carbon was successfully synthesized with the help of a small amount of graphene for high-performance supercapacitors. It's found that presence of graphene is a crucial condition for the formation of 3D porous carbon and graphene acts as a skeleton in the porous carbon. This kind of carbon material exhibited very high surface area of 1887.8 m² g⁻¹ and delivered excellent electrochemical performance. Its specific capacitance can reach 141 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and more importantly, after 10,000 cycles 98.6% of initial specific capacitance can be maintained. To explore the practical application of the 3D porous carbon, an asymmetric supercapacitor coin-type device was assembled with 3D porous carbon and graphene as electrode materials in organic electrolyte. The constructed device exhibited high energy density of 48.5 Wh·kg⁻¹ at a power density of 1.5 kW kg⁻¹ and still maintains 39.625 Wh·kg⁻¹ under the high power density (15 kW kg⁻¹). These results will promote the rapid development of 3D porous carbon prepared by low-temperature route and the application in supercapacitors.     

High energy density PbO2/activated carbon asymmetric electrochemical capacitor based on lead dioxide electrode with three-dimensional porous titanium substrate

A PbO₂/AC asymmetric electrochemical capacitor (AEC) with energy density as high as 49.4 Wh kg⁻¹, power density of 433.2 W kg⁻¹ and specific capacitance of 135.2 F g⁻¹ was fabricated with PbO₂ electrodeposited on three-dimensional porous titanium (3D-Ti/PbO₂) and activated carbon. The high electrochemical active surface of 3D-Ti/PbO₂ resulted in high specific capacity making it suitable for use as positive electrode in PbO₂/AC AEC. The fabricated AEC demonstrated good power performance with an energy density conservation of 30 Wh kg⁻¹ at power density of 2078 W kg⁻¹. The fabricated AEC also showed excellent cycling stability with capacitance retention of 99.2% after 1000 cycles.     

Co-precipitation synthesis of nickel cobalt hexacyanoferrate for binder-free high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

Prussian blue analogue with a typical metal-organic framework has been widely used as an electrode material in supercapacitor. In this work, nickel cobalt hexacyanoferrate (Ni₂CoHCF) was grown on nickel foam directly using a simple co-precipitation method. The as-prepared Ni₂CoHCF was tested by transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and X-ray electron energy spectrum. The results showed that Ni₂CoHCF has a unique open face-centered cubic structure. The Ni₂CoHCF was used to set an asymmetric supercapacitor directly. A series of electrochemical tests showed that Ni₂CoHCF had an excellent electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance of the supercapacitor was 585 C g⁻¹ (1300.0 F g⁻¹, 162.5 mAh g⁻¹) at the current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹. After 2000 cycles, it still maintained 85.57% of its initial specific capacitance at the current density of 10 A g⁻¹. The energy density was 30.59 Wh kg⁻¹ at the power density of 378.7 W kg⁻¹. The results show that the supercapacitor constructed by Ni₂CoHCF as an electrode material has high-current charge-discharge capacity, high energy density and long cycle life.     

Facile fabrication of comb-like porous NiCo2O4 nanoneedles on Ni foam as an advanced electrode for high-performance supercapacitor

It is very desirable to develop the high-performance supercapacitors to meet the rapidly growing demands for energy-autonomous operation and miniaturization of devices. Herein, comb-like porous NiCo₂O₄ nanoneedles on the three-dimension (3D) nickel foam (NF) have been successfully synthesized through a facile pulsed laser ablation (PLA) approach without any post-treatments and surfactant (denoted as NiCo₂O₄-PLA). The influence of working solution during the fabricated process on the properties of NiCo₂O₄-PLA has been demonstrated in detail in terms of the crystalline structure, specific surface area, morphology, and electrochemical performance. Benefiting from the large specific surface (261.4 m² g⁻¹), abundant pores, and highly conductive scaffold, the NiCo₂O₄-PLA binder-free electrode exhibits an outstanding specific capacitance (1650 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹) and eminent cycling performance (91.78% retention after a 12,000-cycle test at a current density of 10 A g⁻¹) compared with the control samples. The assembled asymmetric device (NiCo₂O₄-PLA//AC-ASCs) delivers the high specific capacitance of 126.9 F g⁻¹ at the current density of 1 A g⁻¹, the large energy density of 56.7 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 756 W kg⁻¹, and the low internal resistance. The attractive results strongly prove that it is an ideal candidate for advanced supercapacitor application.     

Facile sonochemical synthesis of strontium phosphate based materials for potential application in supercapattery devices

Among hybrid energy storage devices, supercapattery gained profound research interest due to its ability to give high energy density while maintaining the power density and cyclic stability. Herein, novel low-cost strontium based materials are synthesized by controlled sonochemical method and subsequently calcined at various temperatures. The multiple phases of the material synergistically contributed in the electrochemical charge storage process and give high specific capacity of 220 C g⁻¹ (as-prepared material) and 213 C g⁻¹ (calcined at 200 °C) at 0.5 A g⁻¹. A thorough electrochemical performance of optimized material is investigated as an electrode in asymmetric device. The supercapattery (SP2//AC) exhibits a specific capacity of 103.4 C g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ in the voltage range of 0–1.7 V. Furthermore, supercapattery offers a considerably high specific energy of 24.4 Wh kg⁻¹ at a specific power of 425 W kg⁻¹ and an excellent specific power of 1870 W kg⁻¹ by maintaining specific energy at 14.5 Wh kg⁻¹. In addition, the device retained its specific capacity to 90% after 3000 charging/discharging cycles at 1 A g⁻¹. Strontium based materials could be proposed as an appropriate electrode material for energy storage systems.     

Yuba-like porous carbon microrods derived from celosia cristata for high-performance supercapacitors and efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalysts

Here, a novel yuba-like porous carbon microrod is prepared via a simple and facile strategy by using the fluffy fibers of celosia cristata petals (FCCP) as the raw material. The optimized carbon microrod (FCCP-CM-900) possesses unique yuba-like structure, high specific surface area (1680 m² g⁻¹) and large pore volume (0.98 cm³ g⁻¹), and effective nitrogen (∼4.52 at.%) and oxygen (∼5.49 at.%) doping, which can enhance the wettability and conductivity (7.9 S cm⁻¹). As the electrode material for supercapacitor, FCCP-CM-900-based supercapacitor presents high specific capacitance (314.5 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹) in 6.0 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. The FCCP-CM-900-based symmetrical supercapacitor displays high energy density (18.6 Wh kg⁻¹ at 233.4 W kg⁻¹) and outstanding cycling stability (98% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles) in 1.0 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte. In addition, served as oxygen reduction electrocatalyst, the FCCP-CM-900 also exhibits excellent catalytic activity, good durability, together with high methanol tolerance in alkaline electrolyte, which makes it a highly efficient air cathode material toward zinc–air cell.     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of supercapattery derived from sulphur-reduced graphene oxide/cobalt oxide composite and activated carbon from peanut shells

Sulphur-reduced graphene oxide/cobalt oxide composites (RGO-S/Co₃O₄) were successfully synthesized by varying mass loading of Co₃O₄ through a simple hydrothermal method. Structural, morphological, chemical compositional and surface area/pore-size distribution analysis of the materials were obtained by using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, XPS and BET techniques, which reveal an effective synthesis of the RGO-S/Co₃O₄ composites. Electrochemical performance of the materials was evaluated using a three- and two-electrode system in 1 M KOH electrolyte. An optimized RGO-S/200 mg Co₃O₄ composite displayed the highest specific capacity of 171.8 mA h g⁻¹ and superior cycling stability of 99.7% for over 5000 cycles at 1 and 5 A g⁻¹, respectively, in a three-electrode system. A fabricated supercapattery device utilizing RGO-S/200 mg Co₃O₄ (positive electrode) and activated carbon from peanut shells (AC-PS) (negative electrode), revealed a high specific energy and power of 45.8 W h kg⁻¹ and 725 W kg⁻¹, respectively, at 1 A g⁻¹. The device retained 83.4% of its initial capacitance for over 10, 000 cycles with a columbic efficiency of 99.5%. Also, a capacitance retention of 71.6% was preserved after being subjected to a voltage holding test of over 150 h at its maximum potential of 1.45 V.     

Dual carbon source method to fabricate hierarchical porous carbon with three-dimensional interconnected network structure toward advanced energy storage device

Selective fabrication of carbon materials with developed specific surface area and hierarchical porous structure is essential for high-performance carbon-based supercapacitors. Direct carbonization of organic acid salts represents a strategy that can produce porous carbon with high specific surface area, but it is still hindered by low carbon yield, impeding its large-scale application. Herein, a biomass-derived hierarchical porous carbon with large specific surface area is prepared via a facile one-pot calcination method. The optimal SCPC-4 sample presents three-dimensional interconnected network structure and plentiful heteroatom content. Hence, it delivers a large specific capacitance of 321 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1, and negligible capacitance loss after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g^?1. In addition, the assembled SCPC-4 based symmetric supercapacitor exhibits an energy density of 21.2 Wh kg^?1 at a power density of 900 W kg^?1. This cost-effective binary biomass carbon source route provides a great possibility for the mass production of high-yield porous carbon materials.     

Rational design of hierarchical core-shell structured CoMoO4@CoS composites on reduced graphene oxide for supercapacitors with enhanced electrochemical performance

Engineering multicomponent active materials as an advanced electrode with the rational designed core-shell structure is an effective way to enhance the electrochemical performances for supercapacitors. Herein, three-dimensional self-supported hierarchical CoMoO₄@CoS core-shell heterostructures supported on reduced graphene oxide/Ni foam have been rationally designed and prepared via a facile approach. The unique structure and the synergistic effects between two different materials, as well as excellent electronic conductivity of the reduced graphene oxide, contribute to the increased electrochemically active site and enhanced capacitance. The core-shell CoMoO₄@CoS composite displays the superior specific capacitance of 3380.3 F g⁻¹ (1 A g⁻¹) in the three-electrode system and 81.1% retention of the initial capacitance even after 6000 cycles. Moreover, an asymmetric device was successfully prepared using CoMoO₄@CoS and activated carbon as positive/negative electrodes. It is worth mentioning that the device delivered the high energy density of 59.2 W h kg⁻¹ at the power density of 799.8 W kg⁻¹ and the excellent cycle performance (about 91.5% capacitance retention over 6000 cycles). These results indicate that the core-shell CoMoO₄@CoS composites offers the novelty strategy for preparation of electrodes for energy conversion and storage devices.     

Sulphur-reduced graphene oxide composite with improved electrochemical performance for supercapacitor applications

In this research, carbon nanorods/fibers materials were successfully synthesized from sulphur-reduced graphene oxide (RGO-S) composite by using an improved Hummers' method. Morphological, structural, compositional and textural characterization of the composite material were obtained via scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The electrochemical performance of the composite sample as a promising supercapacitor electrode revealed a peak specific capacity of 113.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ estimated via GCD curves in 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. The half-cell could retain a columbic efficiency of about 98.7% with a corresponding energy efficiency of about 98.5% over 2000 constant charge/discharge cycle at a specific current of 5 A g⁻¹. Remarkably, an assembled hybrid device with carbonized iron cations (C-FP) and the RGO-S composite delivered high energy and power densities of 35.2 Wh kg⁻¹ and 375 W kg⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ within a 1.5 V operating potential, respectively. A good cycling stability performance with an energy efficiency of 99% was observed for the device for up to 10,000 cycling at a specific current of 3 A g⁻¹.     

Binder-free engineering design of Ni-MOF ultrathin sheet-like grown on PANI@GO decorated nickel foam as an electrode for in hydrogen evolution reaction and asymmetric supercapacitor

In this study, Ni₃(benzene 1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid)@polyaniline-rGO nanocomposite (Ni-MOF@PANI-rGO) is fabricated by a two-step procedure involving polymerization and hydrothermal operations. This nanocomposite-based Ni-MOF was designed for binder-free surface modification of nickel foam (NF). This is offered a novel approach for enhancing the electrochemical performance, and even energy density with a wider operating potential window. An in-situ Ni-MOF was then synthesized on polyaniline@GO (PANI-GO) using an NH-fragment linker and an in-situ hydrothermal technique. The electrochemical behavior of the nanocomposite was studied in asymmetric systems and exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance, high energy density, and power density (73.99 Wh kg⁻¹ at 848.29 W kg⁻¹). The electrode also showed a high specific capacity (1680 C g⁻¹ at 1.0 A g⁻¹) and exceptional cycling stability (92⁒) after 5000 cycles in a three-electrode system. The present results imply a direct application of Ni-MOF@PANI-rGO composite as a bridge performance between supercapacitors and batteries. In addition, the electrocatalyst activity of Ni-MOF@PANI-rGO toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry at a scan rate of 10 mV s⁻¹ in 1.0 M KOH. The results showed that Ni-MOF@PAN-rGO acts as a suitable electrocatalyst with the lowest overpotential at 10, 50, and 80 mA cm⁻² and the lowest Tafel slope.     

High-performance hybrid supercapacitor based on the porous copper cobaltite/cupric oxide nanosheets as a battery-type positive electrode material

In this work, CuCo₂O₄/CuO nanosheets (NSs) and CuCo₂O₄ oblique prisms (OPs) were synthesized at 130 °C with different amounts of hexamethyltetramine (HMTA) and reaction time through a hydrothermal method, and followed by an annealing treatment of precursors in air. The CuCo₂O₄/CuO NSs with 40 nm in thickness possessed a large specific surface area of 43.34 m² g⁻¹ and a mean pore size of 18.14 nm. The electrochemical tests revealed that the CuCo₂O₄/CuO NSs were belonged to the battery-type electrode material and exhibited a specific capacity of 395.55 C g⁻¹ at the current density of 1 A g⁻¹, higher than 258.16 C g⁻¹ for CuCo₂O₄ OPs. A hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) was assembled with activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode and CuCo₂O₄-based materials as positive electrode. The CuCo₂O₄/CuO NSs//AC HSC exhibited a high energy density of 30.18 Wh kg⁻¹ at a power density of 869.62 W kg⁻¹, and showed a fantastic cycling performance with 105.22% capacity retention over 5000 cycles. In contrast, the CuCo₂O₄ OPs//AC HSC delivered an energy density 26.27 Wh kg⁻¹ at 916.74 W kg⁻¹. These impressive electrochemical properties indicate that CuCo₂O₄/CuO NSs may serve as a promising electrode material for the highly capable hybrid supercapacitors in the near future.     

Simple synthesis of honeysuckle-like CuCo2O4/CuO composites as a battery type electrode material for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors

In this paper, porous CuCo₂O₄/CuO composites with novel honeysuckle-like shape (CuCo₂O₄/CuO HCs) have been prepared for the first time by a simple hydrothermal method and followed with an additional annealing process in air. The unique CuCo₂O₄/CuO HCs consisted of dense and slender petals with length of 1.3–1.5 μm and width of about 50 nm, and possessed a specific surface area of 36.09 m² g^?1 with main pore size distribution at 10.63 nm. When used as the electrode materials for supercapacitors, the CuCo₂O₄/CuO HCs exhibited excellent electrochemical performances with a high specific capacity of 350.69 C g^?1 at 1 A g^?1, a rate capability of 78.6% at 10 A g^?1, and 96.2% capacity retention after 5000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g^?1. In addition, a hybrid supercapacitor (CuCo₂O₄/CuO HCs//AC HSC) was assembled using the CuCo₂O₄/CuO HCs as positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode. The HSC device delivered a specific capacity of 187.85 C g^?1 at 1 A g^?1 and a superior cycling stability with 104.7% capacity retention after 5000 cycles at 5 A g^?1, and possessed a high energy density of 41.76 W h kg^?1 at a power density of 800.27 W kg^?1. These outstanding electrochemical performances manifested the great potential of CuCo₂O₄/CuO HCs as a promising battery-type electrode material for the next-generation advanced supercapacitors with high-performance.     

Transforming waste sugar solution into N-doped hierarchical porous carbon for high performance supercapacitors in aqueous electrolytes and ionic liquid

Waste sugar solution is a by-product in the process of manufacturing vitamin C. Nowadays, the unused industrial waste residues are transformed into high efficient energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors electrodes, which are worth exploring because they are consistent with the concept of green and sustainable development. In this paper, a nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon are obtained via pre-carbonization and KOH activation. The as-prepared material, possessed proper pore size distribution, large specific surface area and nitrogen-doping, exhibits good electrochemical performance, such as a high specific capacitance of 342 F g⁻¹ (0.1 A g⁻¹), good stability with 95% capacitance retention after 15,000 cycles in 6 M KOH. Moreover, the supercapacitors deliver a high energy density of 25.6 and 65.9 W h kg⁻¹ in the 1 M Na₂SO₄ and EMIMBF₄, respectively. The good electrochemical performance illustrates that the nitrogen-doped hierarchically porous carbon derived from the waste sugar solution is a potential candidate for energy storage.     

Facile one pot sonochemical synthesis of CoFe2O4/MWCNTs hybrids with well-dispersed MWCNTs for asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor applications

In this study, a facile sonochemical strategy is used for the fabrication of CoFe₂O₄/MWCNTs hybrids as an electrode material for supercapacitor applications. FE-SEM image demonstrates the uniformly well-distributed MWCNTs as well as porous structures in the prepared CoFe₂O₄/MWCNTs hybrids, suggesting 3D network formation of conductive pathway, which can enhance the charge and mass transport properties between the electrodes and electrolytes during the faradic redox reactions. The as-fabricated CoFe₂O₄/MWCNTs hybrids with the MWCNTs concentration of 15 mg (CFC15) delivers maximum specific capacitance of 390 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 mA cm⁻², excellent rate capability (275 F g⁻¹ at 10 mA cm⁻²), and outstanding cycling stability (86.9% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles at 3 mA cm⁻²). Furthermore, the electrochemical performance of the CFC15 is superior to those of pure CoFe₂O₄ and other CoFe₂O₄/MWCNTs hybrids (CFC5, CFC10 and CFC20), indicating well-dispersion MWCNTs and uniform porous structures. Also, as-fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor device using the CoFe₂O₄/MWCNTs hybrids as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode materials shows the outstanding supercapacitive performance (high specific capacitance, superior cycling stability and good rate capability) for energy storage devices. It delivers a capacitance value of 81 F g⁻¹ at 3 mA cm⁻², ca. 92% retention of its initial capacitance value after 2000 charge-discharge cycles and excellent energy density (26.67 W h kg⁻¹) at high power density (~319 W kg⁻¹).     

Battery-type and binder-free MgCo2O4-NWs@NF electrode materials for the assembly of advanced hybrid supercapacitors

In this study, the hetero-structure of MgCo₂O₄ nanowires (MCO-NWs) and microcubes (MCO-MCs) on the skeleton of nickel foam (NF) was realized through a simple hydrothermal method and subsequent annealing treatment, and then served as a binder-free cathode for assembly of high-performance hybrid supercapacitor (HSC). Such synthetic methodology avoided the traditional usage of conductive and binder reagents for the electrode fabrication. The electrochemical tests indicated its battery-type characteristics, and the MCO-NWs@NF exhibited a huge specific capacity (C_s) of 389.0 C g^?1 as well as 86.2% capacity retention when the current density boosted from 1 to 10 A g^?1. The assembled HSC with activated carbon (AC) as anode further demonstrated the advantages of this electrode material. After 5000 cycles at 6 A g^?1, the MCO-NWs@NF//AC HSC showed good long-term cycling stability without any decay in capacitance, and could deliver an energy density (E_d) of 37.9 W h kg^?1 at the power density (P_d) of 958.1 W kg^?1, higher than the 30.4 W h kg^?1 of MCs-based HSC. These impressive results regarding electrochemical performance suggest that MCO-NWs@NF may be a promising candidate to serve as a battery-type material in electrochemical energy storage applications such as HSCs, batteries, and so on.