Enhancing the supercapacitor performance of flexible MnO x Carbon cloth electrodes by Pd-decoration

Smart Electronic Textile-Based Wearable Supercapacitors

Electronic textiles (e-textiles) have drawn significant attention from the scientific and engineering community as lightweight and comfortable next-generation wearable devices due to their ability to interface with the human body, and continuously monitor, collect, and communicate various physiological parameters. However, one of the major challenges for the commercialization and further growth of e-textiles is the lack of compatible power supply units. Thin and flexible supercapacitors (SCs), among various energy storage systems, are gaining consideration due to their salient features including excellent lifetime, lightweight, and high-power density. Textile-based SCs are thus an exciting energy storage solution to power smart gadgets integrated into clothing. Here, materials, fabrications, and characterization strategies for textile-based SCs are reviewed. The recent progress of textile-based SCs is then summarized in terms of their electrochemical performances, followed by the discussion on key parameters for their wearable electronics applications, including washability, flexibility, and scalability. Finally, the perspectives on their research and technological prospects to facilitate an essential step towards moving from laboratory-based flexible and wearable SCs to industrial-scale mass production are presented.

Activated Carbon/MnO2 Composites as Electrode for High Performance Supercapacitors

Activated carbon (AC) was synthesized with various weight ratios of manganese dioxide (MO) through a simple hydrothermal approach. The electrochemical performance of the synthesized activated carbon/MnO2 composites was investigated. The effect of the activated carbon/MnO2 (AM) ratio on the electrochemical properties of the activated carbon/MnO2 composites and the pore structure was also examined. The results show that the specific capacitance of the activated carbon material has been improved after the addition of MO. The as-synthesized composite material exhibits specific capacitance of 60.3 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, as well as stable cycle performance and 99.6% capacitance retention over 5000 cycles.

The morphology controlled growth of Co11(HPO3)8(OH)6 on nickel foams for quasi-solid-state supercapacitor applications

Co₁₁(HPO₃)₈(OH)₆ microstructures with different morphologies growing on NF were synthesized under different conditions, and the flower-like sample presents excellent electrochemical properties.

Ultrathin Ti3C2Tx (MXene) Nanosheet-Wrapped NiSe2 Octahedral Crystal for Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance and Synergetic Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

Metal selenides, such as NiSe₂, have exhibited great potentials as multifunctional materials for energy storage and conversation. However, the utilization of pure NiSe₂ as electrode materials is limited by its poor cycling stability, low electrical conductivity, and insufficient electrochemically active sites. To remedy these defects, herein, a novel NiSe₂/Ti₃C₂T_x hybrid with strong interfacial interaction and electrical properties is fabricated, by wrapping NiSe₂ octahedral crystal with ultrathin Ti₃C₂T_x MXene nanosheet. The NiSe₂/Ti₃C₂T_x hybrid exhibits excellent electrochemical performance, with a high specific capacitance of 531.2 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1 for supercapacitor, low overpotential of 200 mV at 10 mA g^-1, and small Tafel slope of 37.7 mV dec^-1 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Furthermore, greater cycling stabilities for NiSe₂/Ti₃C₂T_x hybrid in both supercapacitor and HER have also been achieved. These significant improvements compared with unmodified NiSe₂ should be owing to the strong interfacial interaction between NiSe₂ octahedral crystal and Ti₃C₂T_x MXene, which provides enhanced conductivity, fast charge transfer as well as abundant active sites, and highlight the promising potentials in combinations of MXene with metal selenides for multifunctional applications such as energy storage and conversion.