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Liu X, Lyu D, Merlet C, Leesmith MJA, Hua X, Xu Z, Grey CP, Forse AC. Structural disorder determines capacitance in nanoporous carbons. Science 2024; 384:321-325. [PMID: 38635707 DOI: 10.1126/science.adn6242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
The difficulty in characterizing the complex structures of nanoporous carbon electrodes has led to a lack of clear design principles with which to improve supercapacitors. Pore size has long been considered the main lever to improve capacitance. However, our evaluation of a large series of commercial nanoporous carbons finds a lack of correlation between pore size and capacitance. Instead, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements and simulations reveal a strong correlation between structural disorder in the electrodes and capacitance. More disordered carbons with smaller graphene-like domains show higher capacitances owing to the more efficient storage of ions in their nanopores. Our findings suggest ways to understand and exploit disorder to achieve highly energy-dense supercapacitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Liu
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Dongxun Lyu
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Céline Merlet
- CIRIMAT, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse INP, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, Cedex 9, 31062 Toulouse, France
- Réseau sur le Stockage Électrochimique de l'Énergie (RS2E), Fédération de Recherche CNRS 3459, 80039 Amiens, France
| | | | - Xiao Hua
- Department of Chemistry, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK
| | - Zhen Xu
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Clare P Grey
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Alexander C Forse
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
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Nigam R, Kar KK. Simulation Study of Electric Double-Layer Capacitance of Ordered Carbon Electrodes. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:12235-12247. [PMID: 36164778 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Supercapacitors are electrochemical energy storage devices having high capacitance, high power density, long cycle life, low cost, easy maintenance, and negligible environmental pollution. The formation of an electric double layer at the electrode-electrolyte interface is mostly responsible for supercapacitors' energy storage. The simulation study of equilibrium electric double-layer capacitance (EDLC) in 3D arranged mesoporous carbon electrodes with a simple cubic morphology and interdigitated electrodes has been done. Continuum theory has been utilized to study the underlying processes involved in EDLC. Interfacial polarization and ion crowding depend on the electrode's critical thickness. Porosity increases the capacitance due to the increase in the electrode surface area. The diffuse-layer specific capacitance of ordered mesoporous carbon electrodes in a (C2H5)4NBF4/propylene carbonate organic electrolyte is in the range of 3.2-13.3 μF cm-2, varying according to the electrode thickness. The Stern-layer specific capacitance is 167.6 μF cm-2, and total equilibrium EDLC is in the range of 3.1-12.3 μF cm-2. The effect of the electric field at the electrode-electrolyte interface on reducing electrolyte permittivity has also been discussed. The EDLC of carbonized interdigitated electrodes is analyzed in a 6 M KOH electrolyte. The diffuse-layer specific capacitance ranges from 118.7 to 352.0 μF cm-2 depending on the width of the interdigitated electrodes. The Stern-layer specific capacitance is 91.2 μF cm-2, and the total EDLC value is 51.6-72.4 μF cm-2. The modeling and simulation approach can be applied to different mesoporous electrodes by varying the supercapacitor component's parameters and geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Nigam
- Advanced Nanoengineering Materials Laboratory, Materials Science Programme, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
| | - Kamal K Kar
- Advanced Nanoengineering Materials Laboratory, Materials Science Programme, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
- Advanced Nanoengineering Materials Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016, India
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Kalasin S, Sangnuang P, Khownarumit P, Tang IM, Surareungchai W. Salivary Creatinine Detection Using a Cu(I)/Cu(II) Catalyst Layer of a Supercapacitive Hybrid Sensor: A Wireless IoT Device To Monitor Kidney Diseases for Remote Medical Mobility. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020; 6:5895-5910. [DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Surachate Kalasin
- Faculty of Science and Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Graduate Program, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi 10140, Thailand
| | - Pantawan Sangnuang
- Pilot Plant Research and Development Laboratory, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi 10150, Thailand
| | - Porntip Khownarumit
- Pilot Plant Research and Development Laboratory, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi 10150, Thailand
| | - I. Ming Tang
- Computation and Applied Science for Smart Innovation Cluster (CLASSIC), Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi 10140, Thailand
| | - Werasak Surareungchai
- Faculty of Science and Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Graduate Program, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi 10140, Thailand
- School of Bioresource and Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi 10150, Thailand
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Zhang Y, Cummings PT. Effects of Solvent Concentration on the Performance of Ionic-Liquid/Carbon Supercapacitors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:42680-42689. [PMID: 31608619 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b09939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the effects of solvent concentration on the bulk properties of an ion liquid electrolyte and the electrochemical performance on carbon-based electrodes, including pristine graphene, oxidized graphene, graphene armchair edge, graphene zigzag edge, onion-like carbon, and slit-pore carbon. We find that diluting the electrolyte reduces the number of ion pairs in the bulk and improves ion dynamics. The capacitance of the two-edge electrodes decreases monotonically as the solvent concentration increases, while the capacitance of other nonedge electrodes exhibits nonmonotonic behavior and a capacitance maximum is observed. Further analyses on the electric double layer reveals two competing factors: solvation reduces the charge overscreening effect, but it also causes the dilution of absorbed ion concentration. While the former increases the capacitance in the low dilution regime, the latter decreases the capacitance in the high dilution regime. In addition, the dilution also significantly improves the ion dynamics at the interface. Our simulation results demonstrate that diluting an ionic liquid electrolyte could potentially boost the power density while maintaining or even slightly increasing the energy density with a careful selection of solvent concentrations on a nonedge carbon electrode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Vanderbilt University , Nashville , Tennessee 37225 , United States
| | - Peter T Cummings
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Vanderbilt University , Nashville , Tennessee 37225 , United States
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Lee WSV, Huang X, Tan TL, Xue JM. Low Li + Insertion Barrier Carbon for High Energy Efficient Lithium-Ion Capacitor. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2018; 10:1690-1700. [PMID: 29271638 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b15473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) is an attractive energy-storage device (ESD) that promises high energy density at moderate power density. However, the key challenge in its design is the low energy efficient negative electrode, which barred the realization of such research system in fulfilling the current ESD technological inadequacy due to its poor overall energy efficiency. Large voltage hysteresis is the main issue behind high energy density alloying/conversion-type materials, which reduces the electrode energy efficiency. Insertion-type material though averted in most research due to the low capacity remains to be highly favorable in commercial application due to its lower voltage hysteresis. To further reduce voltage hysteresis and increase capacity, amorphous carbon with wider interlayer spacing has been demonstrated in the simulation result to significantly reduce Li+ insertion barrier. Hence, by employing such amorphous carbon, together with disordered carbon positive electrode, a high energy efficient LIC with round-trip energy efficiency of 84.3% with a maximum energy density of 133 Wh kg-1 at low power density of 210 W kg-1 can be achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wee Siang Vincent Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore , 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore
| | - Xiaolei Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore , 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore
| | - Teck Leong Tan
- Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR , 1 Fusionopolis Way, #16-16 Connexis, Singapore 138632, Singapore
| | - Jun Min Xue
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore , 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore
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An Atomistic Carbide-Derived Carbon Model Generated Using ReaxFF-Based Quenched Molecular Dynamics. C — JOURNAL OF CARBON RESEARCH 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/c3040032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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Sahu V, Shekhar S, Sharma RK, Singh G. Comment on the Comment on "Ultrahigh Performance Supercapacitor from Lacey Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanoribbons". ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:26429-26430. [PMID: 27680205 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b07737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Vikrant Sahu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi , Delhi 110007, India
| | - Shashank Shekhar
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi , Delhi 110007, India
| | | | - Gurmeet Singh
- Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi , Delhi 110007, India
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Forse AC, Merlet C, Griffin JM, Grey CP. New Perspectives on the Charging Mechanisms of Supercapacitors. J Am Chem Soc 2016; 138:5731-44. [PMID: 27031622 PMCID: PMC4865825 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b02115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 233] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Supercapacitors (or electric double-layer capacitors) are high-power energy storage devices that store charge at the interface between porous carbon electrodes and an electrolyte solution. These devices are already employed in heavy electric vehicles and electronic devices, and can complement batteries in a more sustainable future. Their widespread application could be facilitated by the development of devices that can store more energy, without compromising their fast charging and discharging times. In situ characterization methods and computational modeling techniques have recently been developed to study the molecular mechanisms of charge storage, with the hope that better devices can be rationally designed. In this Perspective, we bring together recent findings from a range of experimental and computational studies to give a detailed picture of the charging mechanisms of supercapacitors. Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and molecular dynamics simulations have revealed that the electrode pores contain a considerable number of ions in the absence of an applied charging potential. Experiments and computer simulations have shown that different charging mechanisms can then operate when a potential is applied, going beyond the traditional view of charging by counter-ion adsorption. It is shown that charging almost always involves ion exchange (swapping of co-ions for counter-ions), and rarely occurs by counter-ion adsorption alone. We introduce a charging mechanism parameter that quantifies the mechanism and allows comparisons between different systems. The mechanism is found to depend strongly on the polarization of the electrode, and the choice of the electrolyte and electrode materials. In light of these advances we identify new directions for supercapacitor research. Further experimental and computational work is needed to explain the factors that control supercapacitor charging mechanisms, and to establish the links between mechanisms and performance. Increased understanding and control of charging mechanisms should lead to new strategies for developing next-generation supercapacitors with improved performances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander C. Forse
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
| | - Céline Merlet
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
| | - John M. Griffin
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
- Department
of Chemistry, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, U.K.
| | - Clare P. Grey
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
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Zhan C, Jiang DE. Contribution of Dielectric Screening to the Total Capacitance of Few-Layer Graphene Electrodes. J Phys Chem Lett 2016; 7:789-94. [PMID: 26884129 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
We apply joint density functional theory (JDFT), which treats the electrode/electrolyte interface self-consistently, to an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) based on few-layer graphene electrodes. The JDFT approach allows us to quantify a third contribution to the total capacitance beyond quantum capacitance (CQ) and EDL capacitance (CEDL). This contribution arises from the dielectric screening of the electric field by the surface of the few-layer graphene electrode, and we therefore term it the dielectric capacitance (CDielec). We find that CDielec becomes significant in affecting the total capacitance when the number of graphene layers in the electrode is more than three. Our investigation sheds new light on the significance of the electrode dielectric screening on the capacitance of few-layer graphene electrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Zhan
- Department of Chemistry, University of California , Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - De-en Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California , Riverside, California 92521, United States
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Abstract
This contribution provides a personal overview and summary of Faraday Discussion 172 on “Carbon in Electrochemistry”, covering some of the key points made at the meeting within the broader context of other recent developments on carbon materials for electrochemical applications. Although carbon electrodes have a long history of use in electrochemistry, methods and techniques are only just becoming available that can test long-established models and identify key features for further exploration. This Discussion has highlighted the need for a better understanding of the impact of surface structure, defects, local density of electronic states, and surface functionality and contamination, in order to advance fundamental knowledge of various electrochemical processes and phenomena at carbon electrodes. These developments cut across important materials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, conducting diamond and high surface area carbon materials. With more detailed pictures of structural and electronic controls of electrochemistry at carbon electrodes (and electrodes generally), will come rational advances in various technological applications, from sensors to energy technology (particularly batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells), that have been well-illustrated at this Discussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick R. Unwin
- Department of Chemistry
- University of Warwick
- Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
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