Ternary flower-sphere-like MnO2-graphite/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for supercapacitor

Advanced three-dimensional hierarchical porousα-MnO2nanowires network toward enhanced supercapacitive performance

Hierarchicalα-MnO2nanowires with oxygen vacancies grown on carbon fiber have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method with the assistance of Ti4+ions. Ti4+ions play an important role in controlling the morphology and crystalline structure of MnO2. The morphology and structure of the as-synthesized MnO2could be tuned fromδ-MnO2nanosheets to hierarchicalα-MnO2nanowires with the help of Ti4+ions. Based on its fascinating properties, such as many oxygen vacancies, high specific surface area and the interconnected porous structure, theα-MnO2electrode delivers a high specific capacitance of 472 F g-1at a current density of 1 A g-1and the rate capability of 57.6% (from 1 to 16 A g-1). The assembled symmetric supercapacitor based onα-MnO2electrode exhibits remarkable performance with a high energy density of 44.5 Wh kg-1at a power density of 2.0 kW kg-1and good cyclic stability (92.6% after 10 000 cycles). This work will provide a reference for exploring and designing high-performance MnO2materials.

NiCoSe4nanoparticles derived from nickel-cobalt Prussian blue analogues on N-doped reduced graphene oxide for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

Synthesis of NiHCCo precursors via simple co-precipitation and nickel-cobalt tetraselenide composites grown on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NiCoSe₄/N-rGO) were fabricated using solvothermal method. The introduction of N-rGO used as a template effectively prevented agglomeration of NiCoSe₄nanoparticles and provided more active sites, which greatly increased the electrochemical and electrical conductivity for NiCoSe₄/N-rGO. NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20 presents a remarkably elevated specific capacity of 120 mA h g^-1under current density of 1 A g^-1. NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20 demonstrates an excellent cycle life and achieves a remarkable 83% retention rate over 3000 cycles with 10 A g^-1. NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20//N-rGO asymmetric supercapacitor was constructed based on the NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20 as an anode, N-rGO as cathode by using 2 mol l^-1KOH as an electrolyte. NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20//N-rGO ASC demonstrates an ultra-big energy density of 14 Wh kg^-1and good circulation stability in the power density of 902 W kg^-1. It is doubled in comparison to the NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20//rGO asymmetric supercapacitor (7 Wh kg^-1). The NiCoSe₄/N-rGO-20//N-rGO ASC capacity retention is still up to 93% over 5000 cycles (5 A g^-1). The results reveal that this device would be a prospective cathode material of supercapacitors in actual applications.

Reducing the resistance for the use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis in materials chemistry

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a highly applicable electrochemical, analytical, and non-invasive technique for materials characterization, which allows the user to evaluate the impact, efficiency, and magnitude of different components within an electrical circuit at a higher resolution than other common electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) or chronoamperometry. EIS can be used to study mechanisms of surface reactions, evaluate kinetics and mass transport, and study the level of corrosion on conductive materials, just to name a few. Therefore, this review demonstrates the scope of physical properties of the materials that can be studied using EIS, such as for characterization of supercapacitors, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), conductive coatings, sensors, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), and other materials. This guide was created to support beginner and intermediate level researchers in EIS studies to inspire a wider application of this technique for materials characterization. In this work, we provide a summary of the essential background theory of EIS, including experimental design, signal responses, and instrumentation. Then, we discuss the main graphical representations for EIS data, including a scope of the foundation principles of Nyquist, Bode phase angle, Bode magnitude, capacitance and Randles plots, followed by detailed step-by-step explanations of the corresponding calculations that evolve from these graphs and direct examples from the literature highlighting practical applications of EIS for characterization of different types of materials. In addition, we discuss various applications of EIS technique for materials research.

On the mechanistic pathways of exfoliation-and-deposition of graphene by bipolar electrochemistry

Amongst the different graphene fabrication techniques, bipolar electrochemistry (BPE) has been recently reported as a simple, controllable, low cost, eco-friendly, and scalable method. It consists of a wirelessly placed carbon source between two feeding electrodes subjected to direct current (DC) voltage in a deionized water bath. Although the physicochemical characteristics of produced graphene have been evaluated, the exfoliation and deposition mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, a novel modified BPE system with an electrically-connected graphite-platinum couple acting as the bipolar electrode has been designed in order to decouple and investigate the contribution of anodic/cathodic exfoliation and deposition of graphene in the BPE process. Electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results indicate that both anodic and cathodic exfoliation of graphene could take place regardless of the type of polarization; however, the morphology and deposition rate highly depend on the polarization. Furthermore, the graphene fabricated by anodic exfoliation was found to show higher levels of oxidation compared to the graphene produced by cathodic exfoliation.