scholarly journals Nitrogen-Doped and Carbon-Coated Activated Carbon as a Conductivity Additive-Free Electrode for Supercapacitors

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7629
Author(s):  
Su-Jin Jang ◽  
Jeong Han Lee ◽  
Seo Hui Kang ◽  
Yun Chan Kang ◽  
Kwang Chul Roh

The development of supercapacitors with high volumetric capacitance and high-rate performance has been an important research topic. Activated carbon (AC), which is a widely used material for supercapacitor electrodes, has different surface structures, porosities, and electrochemical properties. However, the low conductivity of the electrode material is a major problem for the efficient use of AC in supercapacitors. To tackle this challenge, we prepared conductive, additive-free electrodes for supercapacitors by a simple one-pot treatment of AC with melamine (nitrogen source), pitch, and sucrose (both carbon source). Nitrogen-doped and carbon-coated AC was successfully generated after high-temperature heat treatment. The AC was doped with approximately 0.5 at.% nitrogen, and coated with carbon leading to a decreased oxygen content. Thin carbon layers (~10 nm) were coated onto the outer surface of the AC, as shown in TEM images. The modification of the AC surface with a sucrose source is favorable, as it increases the electrical conductivity of AC up to 3.0 S cm−1, which is 4.3 times higher than in unmodified AC. The electrochemical performance of the modified AC was evaluated by conducting agent-free electrode. Although the obtained samples had slightly reduced surface areas after the surface modification, they maintained a high specific surface area of 1700 m2 g−1. The supercapacitor delivered a specific capacitance of 70.4 F cc−1 at 1 mA cm−1 and achieved 89.8% capacitance retention even at a high current density of 50 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the supercapacitor delivered a high energy density of 24.5 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 4650 W kg−1. This approach can be extended for a new strategy for conductivity additive-free electrodes in, e.g., supercapacitors, batteries, and fuel cells.

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (45) ◽  
pp. 9979-9985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuefeng Tong ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Bifa Ji ◽  
Maohua Sheng ◽  
Yongbing Tang

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Yudan Yuan ◽  
Yi Sun ◽  
Zhichen Feng ◽  
Xingjian Li ◽  
Ruowei Yi ◽  
...  

A facile and environmentally friendly fabrication is proposed to prepare nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous activated carbon via normal-pressure popping, one-pot activation and nitrogen-doping process. The method adopts paddy as carbon precursor, KHCO3 and dicyandiamide as the safe activating agent and nitrogen dopant. The as-prepared activated carbon presents a large specific surface area of 3025 m2·g−1 resulting from the synergistic effect of KHCO3 and dicyandiamide. As an electrode material, it shows a maximum specific capacitance of 417 F·g−1 at a current density of 1 A·g−1 and very good rate performance. Furthermore, the assembled symmetric supercapacitor presents a large specific capacitance of 314.6 F·g−1 and a high energy density of 15.7 Wh·Kg−1 at 1 A·g−1, maintaining 14.4 Wh·Kg−1 even at 20 A·g−1 with the energy density retention of 91.7%. This research demonstrates that nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous activated carbon derived from paddy has a significant potential for developing a high-performance renewable supercapacitor and provides a new route for economical and large-scale production in supercapacitor application.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 4234-4243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Zhang ◽  
Xiaoze Shi ◽  
Xuecheng Chen ◽  
Dengsong Zhang ◽  
Xianjie Liu ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (21) ◽  
pp. eabg3626
Author(s):  
Yongjin Fang ◽  
Song Lin Zhang ◽  
Zhi-Peng Wu ◽  
Deyan Luan ◽  
Xiong Wen (David) Lou

Lithium metal has been considered as an ideal anode candidate for future high energy density lithium batteries. Herein, we develop a three-dimensional (3D) hybrid host consisting of Ag nanoparticle–embedded nitrogen-doped carbon macroporous fibers (denoted as Ag@CMFs) with selective nucleation and targeted deposition of Li. The 3D macroporous framework can inhibit the formation of dendritic Li by capturing metallic Li in the matrix as well as reducing local current density, the lithiophilic nitrogen-doped carbons act as homogeneous nucleation sites owing to the small nucleation barrier, and the Ag nanoparticles improve the Li nucleation and growth behavior with the reversible solid solution–based alloying reaction. As a result, the Ag@CMF composite enables a dendrite-free Li plating/stripping behavior with high Coulombic efficiency for more than 500 cycles. When this anode is coupled with a commercial LiFePO4 cathode, the assembled full cell manifests high rate capability and stable cycling life.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Renwei Lu ◽  
Xiaolong Ren ◽  
Chong Wang ◽  
Changzhen Zhan ◽  
Ding Nan ◽  
...  

Lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LICs) are regarded as one of the most promising next generation energy storage devices. Commercial activated carbon materials with low cost and excellent cycling stability are widely used as cathode materials for LICs, however, their low energy density remains a significant challenge for the practical applications of LICs. Herein, Na0.76V6O15 nanobelts (NaVO) were prepared and combined with commercial activated carbon YP50D to form hybrid cathode materials. Credit to the synergism of its capacitive effect and diffusion-controlled faradaic effect, NaVO/C hybrid cathode displays both superior cyclability and enhanced capacity. LICs were assembled with the as-prepared NaVO/C hybrid cathode and artificial graphite anode which was pre-lithiated. Furthermore, 10-NaVO/C//AG LIC delivers a high energy density of 118.9 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 220.6 W kg−1 and retains 43.7 Wh kg−1 even at a high power density of 21,793.0 W kg−1. The LIC can also maintain long-term cycling stability with capacitance retention of approximately 70% after 5000 cycles at 1 A g−1. Accordingly, hybrid cathodes composed of commercial activated carbon and a small amount of high energy battery-type materials are expected to be a candidate for low-cost advanced LICs with both high energy density and power density.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
La Li ◽  
Weijia Liu ◽  
Kai Jiang ◽  
Di Chen ◽  
Fengyu Qu ◽  
...  

AbstractZn-ion hybrid supercapacitors (SCs) are considered as promising energy storage owing to their high energy density compared to traditional SCs. How to realize the miniaturization, patterning, and flexibility of the Zn-ion SCs without affecting the electrochemical performances has special meanings for expanding their applications in wearable integrated electronics. Ti3C2Tx cathode with outstanding conductivity, unique lamellar structure and good mechanical flexibility has been demonstrated tremendous potential in the design of Zn-ion SCs, but achieving long cycling stability and high rate stability is still big challenges. Here, we proposed a facile laser writing approach to fabricate patterned Ti3C2Tx-based Zn-ion micro-supercapacitors (MSCs), followed by the in-situ anneal treatment of the assembled MSCs to improve the long-term stability, which exhibits 80% of the capacitance retention even after 50,000 charge/discharge cycles and superior rate stability. The influence of the cathode thickness on the electrochemical performance of the MSCs is also studied. When the thickness reaches 0.851 µm the maximum areal capacitance of 72.02 mF cm−2 at scan rate of 10 mV s−1, which is 1.77 times higher than that with a thickness of 0.329 µm (35.6 mF cm−2). Moreover, the fabricated Ti3C2Tx based Zn-ion MSCs have excellent flexibility, a digital timer can be driven by the single device even under bending state, a flexible LED displayer of “TiC” logo also can be easily lighted by the MSC arrays under twisting, crimping, and winding conditions, demonstrating the scalable fabrication and application of the fabricated MSCs in portable electronics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shouxiang Ding ◽  
Mingzheng Zhang ◽  
Runzhi Qin ◽  
Jianjun Fang ◽  
Hengyu Ren ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent years have witnessed a booming interest in grid-scale electrochemical energy storage, where much attention has been paid to the aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs). Among various cathode materials for AZIBs, manganese oxides have risen to prominence due to their high energy density and low cost. However, sluggish reaction kinetics and poor cycling stability dictate against their practical application. Herein, we demonstrate the combined use of defect engineering and interfacial optimization that can simultaneously promote rate capability and cycling stability of MnO2 cathodes. β-MnO2 with abundant oxygen vacancies (VO) and graphene oxide (GO) wrapping is synthesized, in which VO in the bulk accelerate the charge/discharge kinetics while GO on the surfaces inhibits the Mn dissolution. This electrode shows a sustained reversible capacity of ~ 129.6 mAh g−1 even after 2000 cycles at a current rate of 4C, outperforming the state-of-the-art MnO2-based cathodes. The superior performance can be rationalized by the direct interaction between surface VO and the GO coating layer, as well as the regulation of structural evolution of β-MnO2 during cycling. The combinatorial design scheme in this work offers a practical pathway for obtaining high-rate and long-life cathodes for AZIBs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhikang Wang ◽  
Guiqiang Cao ◽  
Da Bi ◽  
Tian-Xiong Tan ◽  
Qingxue Lai ◽  
...  

Lithium-Sulfur batteries have been regarded as the most promising electrochemical energy storage device in consideration of their satisfactory high specific capacity and high energy density. However, the inferior conversion efficiency...


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