Excellent performance of flexible supercapacitor based on the ternary composites of reduced graphene oxide/molybdenum disulfide/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)

Facile Synthesis of Sandwich-Type Porous Structured Ni(OH)2/NCNWs/rGO Composite for High Performance Supercapacitor

Nickel hydroxide has ultra-high energy storage capacity in supercapacitors, but poor electrical conductivity limits their further application. The use of graphene to improve its conductivity is an effective measure, but how to suppress the stacking of graphene and improve the overall performance of composite materials has become a new challenge. In this work, a well-designed substrate of N-doped carbon nanowires with reduced graphene oxide (NCNWs/rGO) was fabricated by growing polypyrrole (PPy) nanowires between GO nanosheets layers and then calcining them at high temperatures. This NCNWs/rGO substrate can effectively avoid the stacking of rGO nanosheets, and provides sufficient sites for the subsequent in situ growth of Ni(OH)2, forming a uniform and stable Ni(OH)2/NCNWs/rGO composite material. Benefiting from the abundant pores, high specific surface area (107.2 m2 g-1), and conductive network throughout the NCNWs/rGO substrate, the deposited Ni(OH)2 can not only realize an ultra-high loading ratio, but also exposes more active surfaces (221.3 m2 g-1). After a comprehensive electrochemical test, it was found that the Ni(OH)2/NCNWs/rGO positive materials have a high specific capacitance of 2016.6 F g-1 at a scan rate of 1 mV s-1, and exhibit significantly better stability. The assembled Ni(OH)2/NCNWs/rGO//AC asymmetric supercapacitor could achieve a high energy density of 85.2 Wh kg-1 at power densities of 381 W kg-1. In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor has excellent stability and could retain 70.1% of initial capacitance after 10,000 cycles. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using NCNWs/rGO substrate to construct high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials, and it is also expected to be promoted in other active composite materials.

Pedot:PSS/Graphene Oxide (GO) Ternary Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Applications

Among conductive polymers, poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has been widely used as an electrode material for supercapacitors, solar cells, sensors, etc. Although PEDOT:PSS-based thin films have acceptable properties such as good capacitive and electrical behaviour and biocompatibility, there are still several challenges to be overcome in their use as an electrode material for supercapacitors. For this reason, the aim of this work is to fabricate and characterise ternary nanocomposites based on PEDOT:PSS and graphene oxide (GO), blended with green additives (glucose (G) or ascorbic acid (AA)), which have the benefits of being environmentally friendly, economical, and easy to use. The GO reduction process was first accurately investigated and demonstrated by UV-Vis and XRD measurements. Three-component inks have been developed, and their morphological, rheological, and surface tension properties were evaluated, showing their printability by means of Aerosol Jet® Printing (AJ®P), an innovative direct writing technique belonging to the Additive Manufacturing (AM) for printed electronics applications. Thin films of the ternary nanocomposites were produced by drop casting and spin coating techniques, and their capacitive behaviour and chemical structures were evaluated through Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) tests and FT-IR analyses. CV tests show an increment in the specific capacitance of AAGO-PEDOT up to 31.4 F/g and excellent overtime stability compared with pristine PEDOT:PSS, suggesting that this ink can be used to fabricate supercapacitors in printed (bio)-electronics. The inks were finally printed by AJ®P as thin films (10 layers, 8 × 8 mm) and chemically analysed by FT-IR, demonstrating that all components of the formulation were successfully aerosolised and deposited on the substrate.

Recent advances in hierarchical MoS2/graphene-based materials for supercapacitor applications

Hierarchical MoS₂/graphene (MoS₂/G) has been widely researched in energy storage via supercapacitors. The combination of MoS₂ with graphene not only provides high conductivity but also enhances the structural stability, which are critical factors determining the electrochemical performance for energy storage. In this review, the recent development of various hierarchical MoS₂/G nanostructures in supercapacitor applications is summarized by classifying the materials into MoS₂/G nanospheres, MoS₂/G nanosheets, and MoS₂/G-based ternary composite. The description of the structural characteristics and electrochemical performance gives a clear and profound understanding of hierarchical MoS₂/G nanostructures as a supercapacitor material. In addition, further research prospects of hierarchical MoS₂/G are suggested.

Recent progress in 2D hybrid heterostructures from transition metal dichalcogenides and organic layers: properties and applications in energy and optoelectronics fields

Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) present extraordinary optoelectronic, electrochemical, and mechanical properties that have not been accessible in bulk semiconducting materials. Recently, a new research field, 2D hybrid heteromaterials, has emerged upon integrating TMDs with molecular systems, including organic molecules, polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and carbonaceous materials, that can tailor the TMD properties and exploit synergetic effects. TMD-based hybrid heterostructures can meet the demands of future optoelectronics, including supporting flexible, transparent, and ultrathin devices, and energy-based applications, offering high energy and power densities with long cycle lives. To realize such applications, it is necessary to understand the interactions between the hybrid components and to develop strategies for exploiting the distinct benefits of each component. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the new phenomena and mechanisms involved in TMD/organic hybrids and potential applications harnessing such valuable materials in an insightful way. We highlight recent discoveries relating to multicomponent hybrid materials. Finally, we conclude this review by discussing challenges related to hybrid heteromaterials and presenting future directions and opportunities in this research field.

Reduced Graphene Oxide—Polycarbonate Electrodes on Different Supports for Symmetric Supercapacitors

Electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors or supercapacitors (SCs) are widely studied, as they are needed for the development of energy storage devices in electrical vehicles and flexible electronics. In the current work, a self-supported paper of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with polycarbonate (PC) (as rGO-PC composite) was prepared by simple vacuum filtration and low-temperature annealing. rGO-PC as a freestanding single electrode was studied in a three-electrode system and presented a capacitive energy storage mechanism. To fabricate SCs based on rGO-PC, flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with layers of both Cu tape (Cu tape) and carbon tape (C tape) (PET/Cu/C), as well as PET covered by graphene ink (PET/GrI), were used as supports. Fabricated flexible symmetric SCs have shown similar behavior with a higher areal capacitance value than that on PET/Cu/C substrate.

Designing flexible, smart and self-sustainable supercapacitors for portable/wearable electronics: from conductive polymers

The rapid development of portable/wearable electronics proposes new demands for energy storage devices, which are flexibility, smart functions and long-time outdoor operation. Supercapacitors (SCs) show great potential in portable/wearable applications, and the recently developed flexible, smart and self-sustainable supercapacitors greatly meet the above demands. In these supercapacitors, conductive polymers (CPs) are widely applied due to their high flexibility, conductivity, pseudo-capacitance, smart characteristics and moderate preparation conditions. Herein, we'd like to introduce the CP-based flexible, smart and self-sustainable supercapacitors for portable/wearable electronics. This review first summarizes the flexible SCs based on CPs and their composites with carbon materials and metal compounds. The smart supercapacitors, i.e., electrochromic, electrochemical actuated, stretchable, self-healing and stimuli-sensitive ones, are then presented. The self-sustainable SCs which integrate SC units with energy-harvesting units in one compact configuration are also introduced. The last section highlights some current challenges and future perspectives of this thriving field.

Rationally designed hierarchical C/TiO2/Ti multilayer core-sheath wires for high-performance energy storage devices

Fiber-shaped supercapacitors (FSCs) are promising power sources for wearable electronic devices due to their small size, excellent flexibility and deformability. The performance of FSCs has been severely affected by the framework of the fibrous electrodes and the interface between the electrode materials and current collector. Herein, we propose an ingenious strategy that combines anodizing etching and CVD methods to transform the less-active titanium wires into unique hierarchical carbon/TiO₂ nanotube/Ti (CTNT) core-sheath wires, which have high conductivity, good mechanical strength and porous structure on the surface. CTNT wires can be used not only as a high-performance electrode, but also as an ideal substrate for depositing active materials. We have demonstrated the deposition of MnO₂ and MoS₂ on the surface of CTNT to prepare MnO₂@CTNT and MoS₂@CTNT core-sheath composite wires through electrochemical deposition and hydrothermal reaction, respectively. The specific areal capacitance of a single wire (MoS₂@CTNT) can reach up to 557.83 mF cm^-2 in a three-electrode system. Two such wires were further used as electrodes for making an all-solid-state asymmetric fiber-shaped supercapacitor (AFSC). The prepared AFSC has a wide voltage window of 2.7 V, a large areal capacitance of 121.42 mF cm^-2 and an excellent energy density of 74.37 μW h cm^-2. It also shows good rate performance and stability, and even after 10 000 cycles of charging and discharging, a capacitance retention rate of 76.5% can be achieved.

Advanced materials and technologies for supercapacitors used in energy conversion and storage: a review

Supercapacitors are increasingly used for energy conversion and storage systems in sustainable nanotechnologies. Graphite is a conventional electrode utilized in Li-ion-based batteries, yet its specific capacitance of 372 mA h g−1 is not adequate for supercapacitor applications. Interest in supercapacitors is due to their high-energy capacity, storage for a shorter period and longer lifetime. This review compares the following materials used to fabricate supercapacitors: spinel ferrites, e.g., MFe2O4, MMoO4 and MCo2O4 where M denotes a transition metal ion; perovskite oxides; transition metals sulfides; carbon materials; and conducting polymers. The application window of perovskite can be controlled by cations in sublattice sites. Cations increase the specific capacitance because cations possess large orbital valence electrons which grow the oxygen vacancies. Electrodes made of transition metal sulfides, e.g., ZnCo2S4, display a high specific capacitance of 1269 F g−1, which is four times higher than those of transition metals oxides, e.g., Zn–Co ferrite, of 296 F g−1. This is explained by the low charge-transfer resistance and the high ion diffusion rate of transition metals sulfides. Composites made of magnetic oxides or transition metal sulfides with conducting polymers or carbon materials have the highest capacitance activity and cyclic stability. This is attributed to oxygen and sulfur active sites which foster electrolyte penetration during cycling, and, in turn, create new active sites.

Vapor phase polymerized conducting polymer/MXene textiles for wearable electronics

Multifunctional electronic textiles hold great potential applications in the wearable electronics field. However, it remains challenging to seamlessly integrate the multiple functions on the textile substrates without sacrificing their intrinsic properties. Herein, we report a novel and facile vapor phase polymerization (VPP) and spray-coating strategy towards the construction of a laminated film containing a PEDOT film and Ti3C2Tx MXene sheets on the fiber surface. The fabricated PEDOT/MXene decorated cotton fabrics are integrated with excellent electrochemical performance, joule heating performance, good electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and strain sensing performance. The resultant multifunctional textiles have a low sheet resistance of 3.6 Ω sq-1, and the assembled all-solid-state fabric supercapacitors exhibit an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 1000.2 mF cm-2, which exceeds the state-of-the-art MXene-based fabric supercapacitors. In addition, the PEDOT/MXene modified fabrics exhibit an exceptional joule heating performance of 193.1 °C at the applied voltage of 12 V, high EMI shielding effectiveness of 36.62 dB, and high sensitivity as strain sensors for human motion detection. This work provides a novel strategy for the structure design of multifunctional textiles and will lay the foundation for the development of multifunctional wearable electronics.