Asymmetric supercapacitors based on 3D graphene-wrapped V2O5 nanospheres and Fe3O4@3D graphene electrodes with high power and energy densities

Convergence of nanotechnology and artificial intelligence in the fight against liver cancer: a comprehensive review

Liver cancer is one of the most challenging malignancies, often associated with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Recent advancements in nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI) have opened new frontiers in the fight against this disease. Nanotechnology enables precise, targeted drug delivery, enhancing the efficacy of therapeutics while minimizing off-target effects. Simultaneously, AI contributes to improved diagnostic accuracy, predictive modeling, and the development of personalized treatment strategies. This review explores the convergence of nanotechnology and AI in liver cancer treatment, evaluating current progress, identifying existing research gaps, and discussing future directions. We highlight how AI-powered algorithms can optimize nanocarrier design, facilitate real-time monitoring of treatment efficacy, and enhance clinical decision-making. By integrating AI with nanotechnology, clinicians can achieve more accurate patient stratification and treatment personalization, ultimately improving patient outcomes. This convergence holds significant promise for transforming liver cancer therapy into a more precise, individualized, and efficient process. However, data privacy, regulatory hurdles, and the need for large-scale clinical validation remain. Addressing these issues will be essential to fully realizing the potential of these technologies in oncology.

Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-layered double hydroxide with core-shell rods array structure as the cathode for high performance supercapacitors

The selection of highly efficient materials and the construction of advantageous structures are essential for realizing high-performance electrode materials. In this paper, electrode material Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-LDH/CF with excellent morphology and high performance has been successfully designed and prepared by simple hydrothermal and calcination techniques. First, ZIF-67 is loaded on the outer layer of Cu2S rods to obtain core-shell structured Cu2S@ZIF-67 rods, whose ZIF-67 MOF shell is carbonized to obtain Cu2S@C rods. Then, NiMnCe-LDH are epitaxially loaded on the outer layer of Cu2S@C to obtain Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-LDH rods. At a current density of 2 mA cm-2, Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-LDH/CF exhibits an area capacitance of 5176.4 mF cm-2. The mass capacitance and the energy density of the Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-LDH/CF//AC asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) reach 150.82F g-1 at a sweep rate of 0.8 A/g and 53.62 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 639.99 W kg-1, respectively. Meanwhile, after 8000 electrochemical cycles, the specific capacitance of Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-LDH/CF//AC still has a retention rate of 86.32 %, which proves its excellent cycling stability. These results demonstrate a new strategy for the preparation of novel core-shell structured Cu2S/C@NiMnCe-LDH/CF nanocomposite material for electrode materials of energy storage devices with superb performance.

Recovery of copper/carbon matrix nanoheteroarchitectures from recyclable electronic waste and their efficacy as antibacterial agents

Innovative solutions are urgently needed with the growing environmental hazard of electronic waste (e-waste) and the rising global threat of bacterial infections. This study addresses both issues by using e-waste to produce copper nanoparticles within a carbon matrix (Cu/C NPs), mitigating environmental hazards while exploring their antibacterial properties. Printed circuit boards from discarded computers were collected and treated with 2 M ammonium citrate dissolved in 8% ammonia solution. The leached solution was used to synthesize copper particles using ascorbic acid. The synthesized Cu/C NPs were characterized using various techniques such as EDX, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The antibacterial activity of Cu/C NPs against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was evaluated using colony-forming unit (CFU) reduction assay and calculating the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The Cu/C NPs were found to be effective against E. coli and S. aureus with 100% and 98% CFU reduction, respectively, with MICs ranging from 250 to 375 μg mL-1 for E. coli and 375 to 750 μg mL-1 for S. aureus, according to the bacterial load. The bactericidal kinetics showed complete bacterial elimination after 5 and 7 hours for E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. This study presents a sustainable approach for utilizing e-waste and demonstrates the potential of the recovered nanoparticles for antibacterial applications.

Enhanced Energy Storage Performance through Controlled Composition and Synthesis of 3D Mixed Metal-Oxide Microspheres

Binary transition metal oxide complexes (BTMOCs) in three-dimensional (3D) layered structures show great promise as electrodes for supercapacitors (SCs) due to their diverse oxidation states, which contribute to high specific capacitance. However, the synthesis of BTMOCs with 3D structures remains challenging yet crucial for their application. In this study, we present a novel approach utilizing a single-step hydrothermal technique to fabricate flower-shaped microspheres composed of a NiCo-based complex. Each microsphere consists of nanosheets with a mesoporous structure, enhancing the specific surface area to 23.66 m2 g-1 and facilitating efficient redox reactions. When employed as the working electrode for supercapacitors, the composite exhibits remarkable specific capacitance, achieving 888.8 F g-1 at 1 A g-1. Furthermore, it demonstrates notable electrochemical stability, retaining 52.08% capacitance after 10,000 cycles, and offers a high-power density of 225 W·kg-1, along with an energy density of 25 Wh·kg-1, showcasing its potential for energy storage applications. Additionally, an aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was assembled using NiCo microspheres-based complex and activated carbon (AC). Remarkably, the NiCo microspheres complex/AC configuration delivers a high specific capacitance of 250 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, with a high energy density of 88 Wh kg-1, for a power density of 800 W kg-1. The ASC also exhibits excellent long-term cyclability with 69% retention over 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. Furthermore, a series of two ASC devices demonstrated the capability to power commercial blue LEDs for a duration of at least 40 s. The simplicity of the synthesis process and the exceptional performance exhibited by the developed electrode materials hold considerable promise for applications in energy storage.

Zn-doped MnOx nanowires displaying plentiful crystalline defects and tunable small cross-sections for an optimized volcano-type performance towards supercapacitors

MnOx-based nanomaterials are promising large-scale electrochemical energy storage devices due to their high specific capacity, low toxicity, and low cost. However, their slow diffusion kinetics is still challenging, restricting practical applications. Here, a one-pot and straightforward method was reported to produce Zn-doped MnOx nanowires with abundant defects and tunable small cross-sections, exhibiting an outstanding specific capacitance. More specifically, based on a facile hydrothermal strategy, zinc sites could be uniformly dispersed in the α-MnOx nanowires structure as a function of composition (0.3, 2.1, 4.3, and 7.6 wt.% Zn). Such a process avoided the formation of different crystalline phases during the synthesis. The reproducible method afforded uniform nanowires, in which the size of cross-sections decreased with the increase of Zn composition. Surprisingly, we found a volcano-type relationship between the storage performance and the Zn loading. In this case, we demonstrated that the highest performance material could be achieved by incorporating 2.1 wt.% Zn, exhibiting a remarkable specific capacitance of 1082.2 F.g-1 at a charge/discharge current density of 1.0 A g-1 in a 2.0 mol L-1 KOH electrolyte. The optimized material also afforded improved results for hybrid supercapacitors. Thus, the results presented herein shed new insights into preparing defective and controlled nanomaterials by a simple one-step method for energy storage applications.

Preparation and characterization of bifunctional wolfsbane-like magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles-decorated lignin-based carbon nanofibers composites for electromagnetic wave absorption and electrochemical energy storage

Recently, with the pursuit of high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA) and electrochemical energy storage (EES) materials, multifunctional lignin-based composites have attracted significant interest due to their low cost, vast availability, and sustainability. In this work, lignin-based carbon nanofibers (LCNFs) was first prepared by electrospinning, pre-oxidation and carbonization processes. Then, different content of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of LCNFs via the facile hydrothermal way to produce a series of bifunctional wolfsbane-like LCNFs/Fe3O4 composites. Among them, the synthesized optimal sample (using 12 mmol of FeCl3·6H2O named as LCNFs/Fe3O4-2) displayed excellent EMWA ability. When the minimum reflection loss (RL) value achieved -44.98 dB at 6.01 GHz with an thickness of 1.5 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) was up to 4.19 GHz ranging from 5.10 to 7.21 GHz. For supercapacitor electrode, the highest specific capacitance of LCNFs/Fe3O4-2 reached 538.7 F/g at the current density of 1 A/g, and the capacitance retention remained at 80.3 %. Moreover, an electric double layer capacitor of LCNFs/Fe3O4-2//LCNFs/Fe3O4-2 also showed a remarkable power density of 7755.29 W/kg, outstanding energy density of 36.62 Wh/kg and high cycle stability (96.89 % after 5000 cycles). In short, the construction of this multifunctional lignin-based composites has potential applications in electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbers and supercapacitor electrodes.

Sustainable Cellulose Nanofibers-Mediated Synthesis of Uniform Spinel Zn-Ferrites Nanocorals for High Performances in Supercapacitors

Spinel ferrites are versatile, low-cost, and abundant metal oxides with remarkable electronic and magnetic properties, which find several applications. Among them, they have been considered part of the next generation of electrochemical energy storage materials due to their variable oxidation states, low environmental toxicity, and possible synthesis through simple green chemical processing. However, most traditional procedures lead to the formation of poorly controlled materials (in terms of size, shape, composition, and/or crystalline structure). Thus, we report herein a cellulose nanofibers-mediated green procedure to prepare controlled highly porous nanocorals comprised of spinel Zn-ferrites. Then, they presented remarkable applications as electrodes in supercapacitors, which were thoroughly and critically discussed. The spinel Zn-ferrites nanocorals supercapacitor showed a much higher maximum specific capacitance (2031.81 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1) than Fe₂O₃ and ZnO counterparts prepared by a similar approach (189.74 and 24.39 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1). Its cyclic stability was also scrutinized via galvanostatic charging/discharging and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, indicating excellent long-term stability. In addition, we manufactured an asymmetric supercapacitor device, which offered a high energy density value of 18.1 Wh kg^-1 at a power density of 2609.2 W kg^-1 (at 1 A g^-1 in 2.0 mol L^-1 KOH electrolyte). Based on our findings, we believe that higher performances observed for spinel Zn-ferrites nanocorals could be explained by their unique crystal structure and electronic configuration based on crystal field stabilization energy, which provides an electrostatic repulsion between the d electrons and the p orbitals of the surrounding oxygen anions, creating a level of energy that determines their final supercapacitance then evidenced, which is a very interesting property that could be explored for the production of clean energy storage devices.

Vanadium Oxide: Phase Diagrams, Structures, Synthesis, and Applications

Vanadium oxides with multioxidation states and various crystalline structures offer unique electrical, optical, optoelectronic and magnetic properties, which could be manipulated for various applications. For the past 30 years, significant efforts have been made to study the fundamental science and explore the potential for vanadium oxide materials in ion batteries, water splitting, smart windows, supercapacitors, sensors, and so on. This review focuses on the most recent progress in synthesis methods and applications of some thermodynamically stable and metastable vanadium oxides, including but not limited to V₂O₃, V₃O₅, VO₂, V₃O₇, V₂O₅, V₂O₂, V₆O₁₃, and V₄O₉. We begin with a tutorial on the phase diagram of the V-O system. The second part is a detailed review covering the crystal structure, the synthesis protocols, and the applications of each vanadium oxide, especially in batteries, catalysts, smart windows, and supercapacitors. We conclude with a brief perspective on how material and device improvements can address current deficiencies. This comprehensive review could accelerate the development of novel vanadium oxide structures in related applications.

Fabrication of Coral-like Polyaniline/Continuously Reinforced Carbon Nanotube Woven Composite Films for Flexible High-Stability Supercapacitor Electrodes

The electrochemical performance is significantly influenced by the structure and surface morphology of the electrode materials used in supercapacitors. Using the floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) technique, a self-supporting, flexible layer of continuously reinforced carbon nanotube woven film (CNWF) was developed. Then, polyaniline (PANI) was formed in the conductive network of CNWF using cyclic voltammetry electrochemical polymerization (CVEP) in various aqueous electrolytes to produce a series of flexible CNWF/PANI composite films. The impacts of the CVEP period, electrolyte type, and electrolyte concentration on the surface morphology, doping degree, and hydrophilicity of CNWF/PANI composite films were thoroughly examined. The CNWF/PANI₁-15C composite electrode, which was created using 15 cycles of CVEP in a solution of 1 M sodium bisulfate, displayed a distinctive coral-like PANI layer with a well-defined sharp nanoprotuberance structure, a 48% doping degree, and a quick reversible pseudocapacitive storage mechanism. At a current density of 1 A g^-1, the energy density and specific capacitance reached 54.9 Wh kg^-1 and 1098.0 F g^-1, respectively, with a specific capacitance retention rate of 75.9% maintained at 10 A g^-1. Both the specific capacitance and coulomb efficiency were maintained at 96.9% and more than 98.1% of their initial values after being subjected to 2000 cycles of galvanostatic charge and discharge, demonstrating excellent electrochemical cycling stability. The CNWF/PANI₁-15C composite film, an ideal electrode material, offers a promising future in the field of flexible energy storage due to its exceptional mechanical properties (127.9 MPa tensile strength and 16.2% elongation at break).

A mesoporous ternary transition metal oxide nanoparticle composite for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor devices with high specific energy

We report on the optimized fabrication and electrochemical properties of ternary metal oxide (Ti-Mo-Ni-O) nanoparticles as electrochemical supercapacitor electrode materials. The structural, morphological, and elemental composition of the fabricated Ti-Mo-Ni-O via rapid breakdown anodization are elucidated by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman, and photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The Ti-Mo-Ni-O nanoparticles reveal pseudocapacitive behavior with a specific capacitance of 255.4 F g-1. Moreover, the supercapacitor device Ti-Mo-Ni-O NPs//mesoporous doped-carbon (TMN NPs//MPDC) device exhibited a superior specific energy of 68.47 W h kg-1 with a corresponding power density of 2058 W kg-1. The supercapacitor device shows 100% coulombic efficiency with 96.8% capacitance retention over 11 000 prolonged charge/discharge cycles at 10 A g-1.

Carbon coating on metal oxide materials for electrochemical energy storage

During the past decades, nano-structured metal oxide electrode materials have received growing attention due to their low development cost and high theoretical specific capacity, accordingly, quite a lot of metal oxide electrode materials are being used in electrochemical energy storage devices. However, the further development was limited by the relatively low electrical conductivity and the volume expansion during electrochemical reactions. Thus, many approaches have been proposed to obtain high-efficiency metal oxide electrode materials, such as designing nanomaterials with ideal morphology and high specific surface area, optimizing with carbon-based materials (such as graphene and glucose) to prepare nanocomposites, combining with conductive substrates to enhance the conductivity of electrodes, etc. Owning to the advantages of low cost and high chemical stability of carbon materials, core-shell structure formed by carbon-coated metal oxides is considered to be a promising solution to solve these problems. Therefore, this review mainly focuses on recent research advances in the field of carbon-coated metal oxides for energy storage, summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of common metal oxides and different types of carbon sources, and proposing methods to optimize the material properties in terms of structure and morphology, carbon layer thickness, coating method, specific surface area and pore size distribution, as well as improving electrical conductivity. In addition, the double or multi-layer coating strategy is also a reflection of the continuous development of carbon coating method. Hopefully, this rereview may provide a new direction for the renewal and development of future energy storage electrode materials.

In situ synthesis of nanostructured Fe3O4@TiO2 composite grown on activated carbon cloth as a binder-free electrode for high performance supercapacitors

Transition metal oxide (TMO) nanomaterials with regular morphology have received widening research attention as electrode materials due to their improved electrochemical characteristics. In this study we present the successful fabrication of an Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ nanocomposite grown on a carbon cloth (Fe₃O₄/TiO₂@C) used as a high-efficiency electrochemical supercapacitor electrode. Flexible electrodes are directly used for asymmetric supercapacitors without any binder. The increased specific surface area of the TiO₂ nanorod arrays provides sufficient adsorption sites for Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. An asymmetric supercapacitor composed of Fe₃O₄/TiO₂@C is tested in 1 M Na₂SO₃ electrolyte, and the synergistic effects of fast reversible Faraday reaction on the Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ surface and the highly conductive network formed by TiO₂@C help the electrode to achieve a high areal capacitance of 304.1 mF cm⁻² at a current density of 1 mA cm⁻² and excellent cycling stability with 90.7% capacitance retention at 5 mA cm⁻² after 10 000 cycles. As a result, novel synthesis of a binder-free Fe₃O₄/TiO₂@C electrode provides a feasible approach for developing competitive candidates in supercapacitor applications.

Transition metal oxide (TMO) nanomaterials with regular morphology have received widening research attention as electrode materials due to their improved electrochemical characteristics.

Supercapattery electrode materials by Design: Plasma-induced defect engineering of bimetallic oxyphosphides for energy storage

Although transition metal hydroxides are promising candidates as advanced supercapattery materials, they suffer from poor electrical conductivity. In this regard, previous studies have typically analyzed separately the impacts of defect engineering at the atomic level and the conversion of hydroxides to phosphides on conductivity and the overall electrochemical performance. Meanwhile, this paper uniquely studies the aforementioned methodologies simultaneously inside an all-in-one simple plasma treatment for nickel cobalt carbonate hydroxide, examines the effect of altering the nickel-to-cobalt ratio in the binder-free defect-engineered bimetallic Ni-Co system, and estimates the respective quantum capacitance. Results show that the concurrent defect-engineering and phosphidation of nickel cobalt carbonate hydroxide boost the amount of effective redox and adsorption sites and increase the conductivity and the operating potential window. The electrodes exhibit ultra-high-capacity of 1462 C g^-1, which is among the highest reported for a nickel-cobalt phosphide/phosphate system. Besides, a hybrid supercapacitor device was fabricated that can deliver an energy density of 48 Wh kg^-1 at a power density of 800 W kg^-1, along with an outstanding cycling performance, using the best performing electrode as the positive electrode and graphene hydrogel as the negative electrode. These results outperform most Ni-Co-based materials, demonstrating that plasma-assisted defect-engineered Ni-Co-P/PO_x is a promising material for use to assemble efficient energy storage devices.

Composite Fe3O4-MXene-Carbon Nanotube Electrodes for Supercapacitors Prepared Using the New Colloidal Method

MXenes, such as Ti3C2Tx, are promising materials for electrodes of supercapacitors (SCs). Colloidal techniques have potential for the fabrication of advanced Ti3C2Tx composites with high areal capacitance (CS). This paper reports the fabrication of Ti3C2TX-Fe3O4-multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes, which show CS of 5.52 F cm-2 in the negative potential range in 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. Good capacitive performance is achieved at a mass loading of 35 mg cm-2 due to the use of Celestine blue (CB) as a co-dispersant for individual materials. The mechanisms of CB adsorption on Ti3C2TX, Fe3O4, and CNTs and their electrostatic co-dispersion are discussed. The comparison of the capacitive behavior of Ti3C2TX-Fe3O4-CNT electrodes with Ti3C2TX-CNT and Fe3O4-CNT electrodes for the same active mass, electrode thickness and CNT content reveals a synergistic effect of the individual capacitive materials, which is observed due to the use of CB. The high CS of Ti3C2TX-Fe3O4-CNT composites makes them promising materials for application in negative electrodes of asymmetric SC devices.

V2O5/vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes as negative electrode for asymmetric supercapacitor in neutral aqueous electrolyte

Development of aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) is often limited by low specific capacitance of negative electrodes. Herein, a composite electrode with tiny vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanoparticles homogeneously decorated in vertically-aligned carbon nanotube arrays (VACNTs) is prepared by supercritical CO₂ impregnation and subsequent annealing, and used as binder-free negative electrode for aqueous ASCs. Owing to its unique three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical nanostructure, the V₂O₅/VACNTs (VN) electrodes exhibit an ideal specific capacitance of 284 F g^-1 in the potential range of -1.1 to 0 V vs SCE at 2 A g^-1 and outstanding cycling stability in the Na₂SO₄ aqueous solution. An aqueous ASC device possessing wide potential range of 1.7 V was constructed with pure VACNTs and VN-350 as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively. The ASC delivers a high energy density of 32.3 Wh kg^-1 at a power density of 118 W kg^-1 and satisfactory cycling life with capacitance retention of 76% after 5000 cycles.

Hybridized Graphene for Supercapacitors: Beyond the Limitation of Pure Graphene

Graphene-based supercapacitors have been attracting growing attention due to the predicted intrinsic high surface area, high electron mobility, and many other excellent properties of pristine graphene. However, experimentally, the state-of-the-art graphene electrodes face limitations such as low surface area, low electrical conductivity, and low capacitance, which greatly limit their electrochemical performances for supercapacitor applications. To tackle these issues, hybridizing graphene with other species (e.g., atom, cluster, nanostructure, etc.) to enlarge the surface area, enhance the electrical conductivity, and improve capacitance behaviors are strongly desired. In this review, different hybridization principles (spacers hybridization, conductors hybridization, heteroatoms doping, and pseudocapacitance hybridization) are discussed to provide fundamental guidance for hybridization approaches to solve these challenges. Recent progress in hybridized graphene for supercapacitors guided by the above principles are thereafter summarized, pushing the performance of hybridized graphene electrodes beyond the limitation of pure graphene materials. In addition, the current challenges of energy storage using hybridized graphene and their future directions are discussed.

High-performance asymmetric supercapacitor based hierarchical NiCo2O4@ carbon nanofibers//Activated multichannel carbon nanofibers

Synthesis of rational nanostructure design of hybrid materials including uniformly growing, stable and highly porous structures have received a great deal of attention for many energy storage applications. In this study, the positive electrode of the uniform distribution of NiCo2O4 nanorods anchored on carbon nanofibers has been successfully prepared by in-situ growth under the hydrothermal process. Whereas, the activated multichannel carbon nanofibers (AMCNFs) have been fabricated via electrospinning followed by alkaline activation as the negative electrode. The crystal phase, morphological structure for the proposed electrode materials were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, the electrochemical behaviors were investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge and discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Compared to the neat CNFs and the pristine NiCo2O4, the NiCo2O4@CNFs hybrid electrodes showed better electrochemical performance and achieved a high specific capacitance up to 649 F g-1 at a current density of 3 A g-1. The optimized NiCo2O4@CNFs//AMCNFs asymmetric device achieved a high energy density of 38.5 Wh kg-1 with a power density of 1.6 kW kg-1 and possessed excellent recyclability with 93.1% capacitance retention over 6000 charging/discharging cycles. Overall, the proposed study introduces a facile strategy for the robust design of hybrid structured as effective nanomaterials based electrode for high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors.

Magnetite ultrafine particles/porous reduced graphene oxide in situ grown onto Ni foam as a binder-free electrode for supercapacitors

Here, we report a simple and green electrochemical route to fabricate a porous network of a Fe3O4 nanoparticle-porous reduced graphene oxide (p-rGO) nanocomposite supported on a nickel-foam substrate, which is directly used as a binder-free charge storage electrode. Through this method, pristine Fe3O4 NPs/Ni, p-rGO/Ni and Fe3O4 NPs@p-rGO/Ni electrodes are fabricated and compared. In the fabricated Fe3O4 NPs@p-rGO/Ni electrode, the porous rGO sheets served as a conductive network to facilitate the collection and transportation of electrons during the charge/discharge cycles, improving the conductivity of magnetite NPs and providing a larger specific surface area. As a result, the Fe3O4 NPs@p-rGO/Ni exhibited a specific capacitance of 1323 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and 79% capacitance retention when the current density is increased 20 times, where the Fe3O4 NPs/Ni electrode showed low specific capacitance of 357 F g-1 and 43% capacity retention. Furthermore, the composite electrode kept 95.1% and 86.7% of its initial capacitances at the current densities of 1 and 4 A g-1, respectively, which were higher than those of a Fe3O4/NF electrode at similar loads (i.e. 80.4% and 65.9% capacitance retentions at 1 and 4 A g-1, respectively). These beneficial effects proved the synergistic contribution between p-rGO and Fe3O4. Hence, such ultrafine magnetite particles grown onto a porous reduced GO network directly imprinted onto a Ni substrate could be a promising candidate for high performance energy storage aims.

Exploration of Energy Storage Materials for Water Desalination via Next-Generation Capacitive Deionization

Clean energy and environmental protection are critical to the sustainable development of human society. The numerous emerged electrode materials for energy storage devices offer opportunities for the development of capacitive deionization (CDI), which is considered as a promising water treatment technology with advantages of low cost, high energy efficiency, and wide application. Conventional CDI based on porous carbon electrode has low salt removal capacity which limits its application in high salinity brine. Recently, the faradaic electrode materials inspired by the researches of sodium-batteries appear to be attractive candidates for next-generation CDI which capture ions by the intercalation or redox reactions in the bulk of electrode. In this mini review, we summarize the recent advances in the development of various faradaic materials as CDI electrodes with the discussion of possible strategies to address the problems present.