Novel binder-free electrode of NiCo2O4@NiMn2O4 core-shell arrays modified carbon fabric for enhanced electrochemical properties

There is still a great challenge to develop new-style battery-type electrode materials with low resistance, large surface area, and stable microstructures on carbon fabric, which limited the development of flexible devices. In this work, NiCo₂O₄ nanoneedle@NiMn₂O₄ nanosheet core-shell arrays are constructed on the carbon fabric as a high-capacitance and long-life supercapacitor electrode for the first time. Benefiting from this kind of binder-free core-shell microstructure, the CF@NiCo₂O₄@NiMn₂O₄ electrode displays extraordinary specific-capacitance of 539.2 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 2 A g⁻¹, and nearly 93.0% retention of total capacitance even after discharging 5000 cycles. The outstanding properties of the hybrid electrode demonstrate that it is of great potential for flexible supercapacitors and batteries the application.     

Decoration of carbon cloth by manganese oxides for flexible asymmetric supercapacitors

Here we describe the production of carbon cloth coated with MnO₂ nanosheets or MnOOH nanorods through a normal temperature reaction or a hydrothermal approach, respectively. Of note, the electrochemical performance of MnO₂-coated carbon cloth was better (429.2 F g⁻¹) than that of MnOOH-coated carbon cloth. When the MnO₂-coated carbon cloth is introduced as the positive electrode and the Fe₂O₃-coated carbon cloth as the negative electrode, a flexible asymmetric supercapacitor was obtained with an energy density of 22.8 Wh kg⁻¹ and a power density of 159.4 W kg⁻¹. Therefore, such a hierarchical MnO₂-coated carbon cloth nanocomposite is a promising high-performance electrode for flexible supercapacitors.     

Synthesis of 2-D nanostructured BiVO4:Ag hybrid as an efficient electrode material for supercapacitors

2-D BiVO₄ nanosheets with monoclinic phase were synthesized at room temperature, and incorporated with Ag to form BiVO₄:Ag hybrid materials. The experiments demonstrated that doping Ag has largely increased the electrochemical performances of supercapacitor. Furthermore, the specific capacitance can reach up to 109 F g^–1 at 1 A g^–1 (the undoped one is of 27 F g^–1); energy density has enhanced to 15.2 Wh kg^–1 compared with the pristine one without Ag (3.8 Wh kg^–1). Therefore, doping Ag into bismuth-based compound provides us an alternative approach for the synthesis of 2-D nanostructured hybrid as an efficient electrode material for supercapacitors     

V2O5 nanosheets assembled on 3D carbon fiber felt as a free-standing electrode for flexible asymmetric supercapacitor with remarkable energy density

As an emerging energy storage device, supercapacitor is widely investigated owing to its excellent capability, quick charge-discharge and tremendous cycle life. The operation potential window, energy density and mass loading of supercapacitor must be taken into deep consideration for its practical application. In this work, an outstanding electrode based on CFF@V₂O₅ nanosheets was prepared. Then a free-standing asymmetric supercapacitor with CFF@V₂O₅ composite as positive electrode and CFF@AC as negative electrode was assembled. Owing to the functional groups produced on CFF after the activation, V₂O₅ nanosheets was immobilized. The composite exhibits remarkable specific capabilities of 1465 mF cm^?2 (492 F g^?1). The energy density of the assembled free-standing asymmetric supercapacitor achieves 0.928 mWh cm^?3 when the power density is 17.5 mW cm^?3. After 6000 charging-discharging cycles as under normal, bended and anti-bended conditions for respective 2000 cycles, the device retains 89.7% of the initial capacitance, exhibiting fascinating cycle stabilization. Finally, two devices linked series can lighten a LED of 1.8 V for 2 min after charging for 2.5 min, which is inspiring for the practical application and production of self-supporting asymmetric supercapacitors.     

3D NiCo2S4 nanorod arrays as electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage application

It is essential to develop new electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage to meet the increasing energy demands, reduce environmental pollution and develop low-carbon economy. In this work, binder-free NiCo₂S₄ nanorod arrays (NCS NRAs) on nickel foam electrodes are prepared by an easy and low energy-consuming route. The electrodes exhibit superior electrochemical properties both for alkaline and Li-ion batteries. In 3 M KOH electrolyte, the NCS NRAs achieve a specific capacity of 240.5 mA h g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.2 A g⁻¹, and 105.7 mA h g⁻¹ after 1500 cycles at the current density of 5 A g⁻¹ with capacity retention of 87.3%. As the anode for LIBs, it shows a high initial capacity of 1760.7 mA h g⁻¹ at the current density of 100 mA g⁻¹, corresponding coulombic efficiency of 87.6%, and a rate capacity of 945 mA h g⁻¹ when the current density is improved 10 times. Hence, the NiCo₂S₄ nanorod arrays are promised as electrode materials with competitive performance.     

Role of Ag and Cu as an interfacial layer on the electrochemical performance of Ni/Ag/ Co3(PO4)2 and Ni/Cu/Co3(PO4)2 electrodes for hybrid energy storage devices

Hybrid energy storage devices unifying the effect of both batteries (high specific energy) and capacitors (high specific power) have emerged in recent years due to their admirable cyclic stability and charge storage capability. Considerable amount of research has been conducted to optimize the electrode materials capable of showing good electrochemical characteristics. Here, we report the influence of interfacial layer of Ag and Cu on the electrochemical performance of cobalt phosphate electrode. Sputtering of Ag and Cu has been amalgamated to improve the interfacial properties of the current collector. After initial structural and morphological study, detailed electrochemical characterizations have been employed for Ni/Ag/Co₃(PO₄)₂ and Ni/Cu/Co₃(PO₄)₂ have been investigated by utilizing various characterizations. Hybrid device was fabricated using the combination Ni/Ag/Co₃(PO₄)₂ since, Ag possess impressive electrochemical characteristics and electrical conductivity. The fabricated device has achieved the energy density of 65.8 Whkg^?1 and power density of 6012 Wkg^-1 along with the 85.6% retention after 1000 GCD cycles showing the device is stable enough. These results make the hybrid device a potential candidate for supercapattery applications.     

Facile synthesis of a novel Fe3O4-rGO-MoO3 ternary nano-composite for high-performance hybrid energy storage applications

Supercapacitors (SCs) have been considered as inspiring energy storage devices due to the long cycle lifetime and high power densities. However, their energy density is limited due to the low capacitance of cathode materials and inferior cycling stability at practically useable potential windows >1.2 V. In this paper, we demonstrate the synthesis of a novel ternary Fe₃O₄-rGO-MoO₃ nano-composite (FGM) with nanoparticles-like morphology (NPs) by utilizing the fast and facile microwave hydrothermal process. The optimized composition of FGM nanocomposite is characterized by the XPS, EDS, Raman, SEM, TEM and HRTEM techniques. The FGM-NPs supported on the carbon cloth (FGM@CC) electrode is used to investigate the electrochemical charge storage properties in basic potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. The charge-storage properties of the FGM@CC electrode were studied by the CV, GCD and EIS techniques. The obtained results of FGM@CC electrode in aqueous electrolyte showed excellent electrochemical performance as compared with single metal oxides: maximum specific capacitance of 1666.50 F g⁻¹ (FGM@CC), 1075.26 F g⁻¹ (Fe₃O₄ NPs) and 952.38 F g⁻¹ (MoO₃ NPs) at a current density of 2.5 A g⁻¹. The capacitance retention was 95.01% (FGM@CC), 94.1% (Fe₃O₄ NPs) and 92.5% (MoO₃ NPs) after 5000 cycles. Further, the charge storage mechanism is analyzed in the light of power's law and systematical investigated the capacitive and diffusion controlled based stored charge in FGM@CC electrode. Thus FGM nano-composite showed best performance as the cathode material for the next generation flexible supercapacitors.     

A review of spinel lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) as electrode material for advanced energy storage devices

With the increasing demand for light, small and high power rechargeable lithium ion batteries in the application of mobile phones, laptop computers, electric vehicles, electrochemical energy storage, and smart grids, the development of electrode materials with high-safety, high-power, long-life, low-cost, and environment benefit is in fast developing recently. The spinel lithium titanate Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ has attracted more and more attention as electrode materials applied in advanced energy storage devices due to its appealing features such as “zero-strain” structure characteristic, excellent cycle stability, low cost and high safety feature. The review focuses on recent studies on spinel lithium titanate (Li₄Ti₅O₁₂) for the energy storage devices, especially on the structure the reversibility of electrode redox, as well as the synthesis methods and strategies for improvement in the electrochemical performances.     

A flexible graphene/multiwalled carbon nanotube film as a high performance electrode material for supercapacitors

A flexible graphene/multiwalled carbon nanotube (GN/MWCNT) film has been fabricated by flow-directed assembly from a complex dispersion of graphite oxide (GO) and pristine MWCNTs followed by the use of gas-based hydrazine to reduce the GO into GN sheets. The GN/MWCNT (16 wt.% MWCNTs) film characterized by Fourier transformation infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope has a layered structure with MWCNTs uniformly sandwiched between the GN sheets. The MWCNTs in the obtained composite film not only efficiently increase the basal spacing but also bridge the defects for electron transfer between GN sheets, increasing electrolyte/electrode contact area and facilitating transportation of electrolyte ion and electron into the inner region of electrode. Electrochemical data demonstrate that the GN/MWCNT film possesses a specific capacitance of 265 F g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and a good rate capability (49% capacity retention at 50 A g⁻¹), and displays an excellent specific capacitance retention of 97% after 2000 continuous charge/discharge cycles. The results of electrochemical measurements indicate that the freestanding GN/MWCNT film has a potential application in flexible energy storage devices.     

ZIF-derived wrinkled Co3O4 polyhedra supported on 3D macroporous carbon sponge for supercapacitor electrode

Co₃O₄/melamine-derived carbon sponge (MCS) nanocomposite in which wrinkled ball-in-dodecahedral Co₃O₄ nanoparticles derived from ZIF-67 were homogeneously dispersed on the interconnected MSC was fabricated via a simple immersion and thermolysis route. As-prepared ultralight Co₃O₄/MCS possessed mechanically robust characteristic and unique 3D macroporous framework anchored with corrugated Co₃O₄ dodecahedra. Utilized as a pseudocapacitor electrode, Co₃O₄/MCS hybrid exhibited a great specific capacitance of 1409.5 F g⁻¹ at the current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹ and excellent long-term cycling stability of 93.2% after 1000 charge/discharge cycles, which might be ascribed to the synergistic effect of the inherent high redox activity from Co₃O₄ polyhedra combined with excellent electrical conductivity of MCS. This work demonstrates that tunable structure design and rational morphology control are efficient approaches for manufacturing novel electrode materials with extraordinary electrochemical performance.     

Mixed bi-material electrodes based on LiMn2O4 and activated carbon for hybrid electrochemical energy storage devices

The performance of mixed bi-material electrodes composed of the battery material, LiMn₂O₄, and the electrochemical capacitor material, activated carbon, for hybrid electrochemical energy storage devices is investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge and pulsed discharge experiments. Both, a high and a low conductivity lithium-containing electrolyte are used. The specific charge of the bi-material electrode is the linear combination of the specific charges of LiMn₂O₄ and activated carbon according to the electrode composition at low discharge rates. Thus, the specific charge of the bi-material electrode falls between the specific charge of the activated carbon electrode and the LiMn₂O₄ battery electrode. The bi-material electrodes have better rate capability than the LiMn₂O₄ battery electrode. For high current pulsed applications the bi-material electrodes typically outperform both the battery and the capacitor electrode.     

Segmented bi-material electrodes of activated carbon and LiMn2O4 for electrochemical hybrid storage devices: Effect of mass ratio and C-rate on current sharing

The performance of segmented bi-material electrodes consisting of an activated carbon and LiMn₂O₄ was investigated as a function of the relative amount of the components for full slow discharge at C/5. By means of a segmented current collector the contribution of each component to the overall current has been monitored. The potential profiles for the constant current discharges showed a monotonous transition from pure capacitive behavior of the activated carbon to battery behavior of pure LiMn₂O₄ for increasing amounts of LiMn₂O₄ in the segmented bi-material electrode. Correspondingly, the current sharing measurements have shown a decreased contribution of the activated carbon to the overall current. The effect of the C-rate up to 20C and pulse discharge at 25C was investigated for a segmented bi-material electrode with a relative amount of activated carbon of 72% by weight. The current sharing showed an increased contribution of the activated carbon to the overall current at high C-rate and during pulse discharge. Moreover it could be demonstrated that the battery material recharges the capacitive material subsequent to the discharge pulse.     

Promising electrode material of Fe3O4 nanoparticles decorated on V2O5 nanobelts for high-performance symmetric supercapacitors

Bundled V₂O₅ nanobelts decorated with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (F3V nanostructures) were successfully synthesized to develop a low-cost electrode material for energy storage applications. The synthesized samples were subjected to structural, morphological and electrochemical studies. The Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles decorated over bundled V₂O₅ nanobelts exhibited better electrochemical properties than the pristine Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and V₂O₅ nanobelts. The electrochemical behavior of the fabricated electrodes was investigated in an electrolyte of 3 M KOH, demonstrated an exceptional specific capacity values of 750.1, 660.3, and 1519 F g^–1 for V₂O₅, Fe₃O₄, and F3V respectively at a current density of 15 A g^–1. The assembled F3V symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) device exhibited an excellent specific capacitance of 93 F g^–1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^–1, delivering energy and power densities of 13 Wh.kg^–1 and 1530 W kg^–1, respectively, and superior long-term cycling stability of ～84% capacity retention over 5000 galvanostatic charge–discharge cycles. These findings demonstrate the extraordinary electrochemical characteristics of the F3V nanostructures, indicating their potential use in energy storage applications.     

NiFe2O4/SiO2 nanostructures as a potential electrode material for high rated supercapacitors

Engineered materials are crucial for the higher efficiency of supercapacitors. Current work presents roughly shaped spherical NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles dispersed in the SiO₂ matrix NiFe₂O₄/SiO₂ as a newfangled electrode material for supercapacitors with remarkable performance. Designing the NiFe₂O₄/SiO₂ nanostructure with a sol-gel method followed by the Stober method to grow silica has instigated NiFe₂O₄/SiO₂ as dynamic material with higher electrochemical activity. Physicochemical aspects of NiFe₂O₄/SiO₂ nanostructures are evaluated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The electrochemical activity is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) representing the comparable efficiency and reversibility of the electrode materials. The prepared electrode shows a capacitance of 925 F/g (154.1 mAh/g or 555 C/g) at 1 A/g, with 95.5% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at 20 mA/cm². The improved electrochemical performance of the NiFe₂O₄/SiO₂ electrode can be subjected to prompt diffusion process provided by NiFe₂O₄/SiO₂ and enhanced redox reactions owing to the high surface area. The mentioned features decrease the total impedance of the electrodes as suggested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).     

Conformal coatings of NiCo2O4 nanoparticles and nanosheets on carbon nanotubes for supercapacitor electrodes

NiCo₂O₄ is a promising electrode material for supercapacitors and it has been widely investigated. However, its low conductivity restricts the reaction kinetics. Combining it with carbon materials can efficiently overcome the issue. But, very limited research about the homogenous coatings of NiCo₂O₄ nanocrystals on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is reported. In this work, thin nanosheets and small nanoparticles of NiCo₂O₄ densely coated on CNTs are synthesized by tuning the annealing time with a hybrid of metal hydroxide@CNTs as a precursor. In the precursor, core−shell structures are formed by conformally coating 2D metal hydroxides on CNTs. After annealing it at 300 °C for different time, NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets or nanoparticles are then obtained and the core−shell structure is remained. Due to the reduced crystal size of NiCo₂O₄ and the high conductivity of CNTs, the composites have large specific capacitances, excellent rate performances, and good stability. The composite of NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles on CNTs has a higher specific capacitance, about 1786 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹, than the hybrid of NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets on CNTs due to their different morphologies. Using the composite as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode, a hybrid capacitor cell can work in a voltage of 1.6 V, delivering an energy density of 32.5 Wh kg⁻¹ at 800 W kg⁻¹, showing a large potential for supercapacitors.     

Development of new nanocomposite based on nanosized-manganese oxide and carbon nanotubes for high performance electrochemical capacitors

We report the synthesis of a new composite electrode based on nanosized-manganese oxide and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by electrophoretic deposition of CNTs on a stainless steel (SS) substrate followed by direct spontaneous reduction of MnO₄⁻ ions to MnO₂ to form the multi-scaled SS-CNT-MnO₂ electrode. The resulting material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge in a 0.65 M K₂SO₄ aqueous solution. The binderless SS-CNT-MnO₂ nanocomposite electrode shows a very high specific capacitance of 869 F/g of CNT-MnO₂ and good stability during long galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the highest capacitance for manganese oxide electrode ever reported. In addition to its applicability in electrochemical capacitors, this methodology could be extended to develop other high performance nanocomposite material electrodes based on carbon nanotubes and metal oxide for the future generation of electrochemical power sources.     

An exploration of 3-methoxypropionitrile chemical sensor based on layered hexagonal NiCo2O4 nanoplates as electrode material

Binary metal oxide, nickel-cobalt oxide (NiCo₂O₄), was hydrothermally synthesized for the successful utilization as electrochemical electrode in chemical sensor. Benefited from the large surface area, binary NiCo₂O₄ stacked hexagonal nanoplates (HNPs) based electrode was utilized for the electrochemical sensing application towards teratogenic chemical i.e. 3-methoxypropionitrile (3-MPN). The sensing results displayed a reproducible sensitivity of ~605 μAμM^?1cm^?2, detection limit of ~11.8 μM with the correlation coefficient (R) of ~0.99502 and good linearity from ~10 μM to ~100 μM. Stability and repeatability of binary NiCo₂O₄ stacked HNPs based electrode was investigated with satisfactory results. Our synthesized binary NiCo₂O₄ stacked HNPs based electrode is promising for sensor applications and thus, enlightens the possibility of synthesizing other binary oxide materials.     

Pt-WO3 supported on carbon nanotubes as possible anodes for direct methanol fuel cells

The carbon nanotube (CNT) synthesised by the template carbonisation of polypyrrole on alumina membrane has been used as the support for Pt-WO₃, Pt-Ru, and Pt. These materials have been used as the electrodes for methanol oxidation in acid medium in comparison with E-TEK 20 wt% Pt and Pt-Ru on Vulcan XC72R carbon. The higher electrochemical surface of the carbon nanotube (as evaluated by cyclic voltammetry) has been effectively used to disperse the catalytic particles. The morphology of the supported and unsupported CNT has been characterised by scanning electron micrograph and high-resolution transmission electron micrograph. The particle size of Pt, Pt-Ru, and Pt-WO₃ loaded CNT was found to be 1.2, 2, and 5 nm, respectively. The X-ray photoelectron spectra indicated that Pt and Ru are in the metallic state and W is in the +VI oxidation state. The electrochemical activity of the methanol oxidation electrode has been evaluated using cyclic voltammetry. The activity and stability (evaluated from chronoamperometric response) of the electrodes for methanol oxidation follows the order: GC/CNT-Pt-WO₃-Nafion>GC/E-TEK 20% Pt-Ru/Vulcan Carbon-Nafion>GC/CNT-Pt-Nafion>GC/E-TEK 20% Pt/Vulcan carbon-Nafion>Bulk Pt. The amount of nitrogen in the CNT plays an important role as observed by the increase in activity and stability of methanol oxidation with N₂ content, probably due to the hydrophilic nature of the CNT.     

Magnetic and microwave absorptive properties of electrophoretically deposited nano-CoFe2O4 as a 3D structure on carbon fibers

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were successfully deposited on carbon fibers as a 3D structure using electrophoretic method to study magnetic and microwave absorption properties. Three well stabilized suspensions from cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared in acetone, ethanol and acetone-ethanol media: and iodine was used as a stabilizing agent. Constant voltage and time were taken into account to investigate their influence on coating morphology and thereafter microwave absorption property. Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, Differential Thermal Analysis and X-ray Diffractometer were employed to study morphology, thermal behavior and structure of powder, respectively. To investigate magnetic and reflection loss properties, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer and Vector Network Analyzer were used. Particle size distribution and zeta potential was obtained by Dynamic Light Scattering device. It was observed that by optimizing voltage amount and time to 25 V and 6 min, respectively; uniformity of coating was improved and this led to the highest attenuation of −10.25 dB in vicinity of 8–12 GHz.     

Application of a two-level rolling horizon optimization scheme to a solid-oxide fuel cell and compressed air energy storage plant for the optimal supply of zero-emissions peaking power

We present a new two-level rolling horizon optimization framework applied to a zero-emissions coal-fueled solid-oxide fuel cell power plant with compressed air energy storage for peaking applications. Simulations are performed where the scaled hourly demand for the year 2014 from the Ontario, Canada market is met as closely as possible. It was found that the proposed two-level strategy, by slowly adjusting the SOFC stack power upstream of the storage section, can improve load-following performance by 86% compared to the single-level optimization method proposed previously. A performance analysis indicates that the proposed approach uses the available storage volume to almost its maximum potential, with little improvement possible without changing the system itself. Further improvement to load-following is possible by increasing storage volumes, but with diminishing returns. Using an economically-focused objective function can improve annual revenue generation by as much as 6.5%, but not without a significant drop-off in load-following performance.