Nanostructured manganese oxides electrode with ultra-long lifetime for electrochemical capacitors

Superior Cyclic Stability and Capacitive Performance of Cation- and Water Molecule-Preintercalated δ-MnO2/h-WO3 Nanostructures as Supercapacitor Electrodes

The large number of active sites in the layered structure of δ-MnO2 with considerable interlayer spacing makes it an excellent candidate for ion storage. Unfortunately, the δ-MnO2-based electrode has not yet attained the exceptional storage potential that it should demonstrate because of disappointing structural deterioration during periodic charging and discharging. Here, we represent that stable Na ion storage in δ-MnO2 may be triggered by the preintercalation of K ions and water molecules. Furthermore, the sluggish reaction kinetics and poor electrical conductivity of preintercalated δ-MnO2 layers are overcome by the incorporation of h-WO3 in the preintercalated δ-MnO2 to form novel composite electrodes. The composites contain mixed valence metals, which provide a great number of active sites along with improved redox activity, while maintaining a fast ion transfer efficiency to enhance the pseudocapacitance performance. Based on our research, the composite prepared from preintercalated δ-MnO2 with 5 wt % h-WO3 provides a specific capacitance of up to 363.8 F g-1 at a current density of 1.5 A g-1 and an improved energy density (32.3 W h kg-1) along with an ∼14% increase in capacity upon cycling up to 5000 cycles. Hence, the interaction between the preintercalated δ-MnO2 and h-WO3 nanorods results in satisfactory energy storage performance due to the defect-rich structure, high conductivity, superior stability, and lower charge transfer resistance. This research has the potential to pave the way for a new class of hybrid supercapacitors that could fill the energy gap between chemical batteries and ideal capacitors.

Preparation of Cobalt Oxide-Reduced Graphitic Oxide Supercapacitor Electrode by Photothermal Processing

We report a photonic technique to instantaneously synthesize cobalt oxide reduced graphitic oxide (CoOx-rGO) supercapacitor electrodes. The electrode processing is achieved through rapidly heating the precursor material by irradiation of high-energy pulsed mostly visible light from a xenon lamp. Due to the short duration of the light pulse, we prepared the electrodes at room temperature instantaneously (ms), thus eliminating the several hours of processing times of the conventional techniques. The as-prepared electrodes exhibited a highly porous morphology, allowing for enhanced ionic transport during electrochemical interactions. The electrochemical properties of the CoOx-rGO electrodes were studied in 1 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. The non-rectangular cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves with characteristic redox peaks indicated the pseudocapacitive charge storage mechanism of the electrodes. From the discharge curves at 0.4 mA/cm2 and 1.6 A/g constant current densities, the electrode showed areal specific capacitance of 17 mF/cm2 and specific capacitance of 69 F/g, respectively. Cyclic stability was tested by performing 30,000 galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) cycles and the electrode exhibited 65% capacitance retention, showing its excellent electrochemical performance and ultra-long cycle life. The excellent electrochemical electrode properties are attributed to the unique processing technique, optimum processing parameters, improved conductivity due to the presence of rGO, and highly porous morphology which offers a high specific surface area. The novel photonic processing we report allows for high-temperature heating of the precursor films achieved via non-radiative recombination of photogenerated electron holes pairs during irradiation. Such extremely quick (ms) heating followed by instantaneous cooling results in the formation of a dense and robust bottom layer of the electrode, resulting in a long cycle life.

Ultra-long cycle life and binder-free manganese-cobalt oxide supercapacitor electrodes through photonic nanostructuring

We report a novel photonic processing technique as a next-generation cost-effective technique to instantaneously synthesize nanostructured manganese-cobalt mixed oxide reduced graphitic oxide (Mn-Co-rGO) for supercapacitor electrodes in energy storage applications. The active material was prepared directly on highly conductive Pt-Si substrate, eliminating the need for a binder. Surface morphological analysis showed that the as-prepared electrodes have a highly porous and resilient nanostructure that facilitates the ion/electron movement during faradaic redox reactions and buffers the volume changes during charge-discharge processes, leading to the improved structural integrity of the electrode. The presence of distinct redox peaks, due to faradaic redox reactions, at all scan rates in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves and non-linear nature of the charge-discharge curves suggest the pseudocapacitive charge storage mechanism of the electrode. The electrochemical stability and the life cycle were examined by carrying out galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) measurements at 0.40 mA cm^-2 constant areal current density for 80 000 cycles, and the electrode showed 95% specific capacitance retention, exhibiting excellent electrochemical stability and an ultra-long cycle life. Such remarkable electrochemical performance could be attributed to the enhanced conductivity of the electrode, the synergistic effect of metal ions with rGO, and the highly porous morphology, which provides large specific surface area for electrode/electrolyte interaction and facilitates the ion transfer.