A breakthrough in hybrid supercapacitors was achieved by increasing the active material in the electrodes by a new method involving β-Ni(OH)2 and NH4F. This innovation leads to more efficient energy storage and opens new possibilities for advanced energy systems. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
New research enhances hybrid supercapacitors by creating more efficient electrodes, marking a major advance in energy storage technology.
Like batteries, supercapacitors are a type of energy storage device. However, whereas batteries store energy electrochemically, supercapacitors store energy electrostatically by storing charge on the electrode surface.
Hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs) combine the advantages of both systems by incorporating battery-type electrodes and capacitor-type electrodes. Despite synthetic techniques that allow the active components of HSC electrodes to be grown directly on conductive substrates without the addition of binders (“self-supporting” electrodes), the proportion of active material in these electrodes remains subject to commercial requirements. remains too low.
Now, researchers have discovered a clever way to increase activity ratios and achieve dramatic improvements in key measures.
Schematic diagram of the device. Credit: Vinod Panwar and Pankaj Singh Chauhan
A breakthrough in supercapacitor electrode efficiency
“Hybrid supercapacitors integrate the advantages of high energy and power density, long cycle life, and safety, and are emerging as a promising frontier in electrochemical energy storage,” said the study’s lead author, a Chinese said Wei Guo, a scientist at Northwestern University of Science and Technology.
“In our paper, we propose a new mechanism to create a versatile two-dimensional superstructure family that overcomes the low active mass ratio of conventional free-standing electrodes.”
New methodology and findings
Here, the researchers studied β-Ni(OH)2, a type of nickel hydroxide. Addition of NH4F into the reaction solution replaces one hydroxide ion with a fluoride ion. The resulting Ni-F-OH plates were grown to a thickness of 700 nm and had a high mass loading (active mass per cm2) 29.8 mg cm-2– Up to 72% of electrode mass.
Advanced Light Source (ALS) Many theoretical and An experimental analysis was performed. It is used to understand the mechanisms underlying the new morphology.
As a result, adding F gives us– Ions tune the surface energy of the plates (a key factor in nanocrystal growth), while NH4+ Ions consume excess local OH–suppressing undesired β-Ni(OH)2 reformation. Additionally, based on the same methodology, researchers can produce other bimetallic superstructures and their derivatives, emerging a versatile new family of metal-based hydroxides for new energy storage systems to meet future demands. showed signs of.
Reference: “New layered hydroxide plates of record thickness to enhance high mass-load energy storage” Wei Guo, Chaochao Dun, Matthew A. Marcus, Victor Venturi, Zack Gainsforth, Feipen Yang, Xuefei Feng, Venkatasubramanian Viswanathan, Jeffrey J. Urban, Chang Yu, Qiuyu Zhang, Jinghua Guo, Jieshan Qiu, February 18, 2023. advanced materials.
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202211603
Source: scitechdaily.com
