In this critical review, metal oxides-based materials for electrochemical supercapacitor (ES) electrodes are reviewed in detail together with a brief review of carbon materials and conducting polymers. Their advantages, disadvantages, and performance in ES electrodes are discussed through extensive analysis of the literature, and new trends in material development are also reviewed. Two important future research directions are indicated and summarized, based on results published in the literature: the development of composite and nanostructured ES materials to overcome the major challenge posed by the low energy density of ES (476 references).

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A review of electrode materials for electrochemical supercapacitors

Electrochemical capacitors (i.e. supercapacitors) include electrochemical double-layer capacitors that depend on the charge storage of ion adsorption and pseudo-capacitors that are based on charge storage involving fast surface redox reactions. The energy storage capacities of supercapacitors are several orders of magnitude higher than those of conventional dielectric capacitors, but are much lower than those of secondary batteries. They typically have high power density, long cyclic stability and high safety, and thus can be considered as an alternative or complement to rechargeable batteries in applications that require high power delivery or fast energy harvesting. This article reviews the latest progress in supercapacitors in charge storage mechanisms, electrode materials, electrolyte materials, systems, characterization methods, and applications. In particular, the newly developed charge storage mechanism for intercalative pseudocapacitive behaviour, which bridges the gap between battery behaviour and conventional pseudocapacitive behaviour, is also clarified for comparison. Finally, the prospects and challenges associated with supercapacitors in practical applications are also discussed.

Electrochemical capacitors: mechanism, materials, systems, characterization and applications

There are an increasing number of studies regarding active electrode materials that undergo faradaic reactions but are used for electrochemical capacitor applications. Unfortunately, some of these materials are described as “pseudocapacitive” materials despite the fact that their electrochemical signature (e.g., cyclic voltammogram and charge/discharge curve) is analogous to that of a “battery” material, as commonly observed for Ni(OH)2 and cobalt oxides in KOH electrolyte. Conversely, true pseudocapacitive electrode materials such as MnO2 display electrochemical behavior typical of that observed for a capacitive carbon electrode. The difference between these two classes of materials will be explained, and we demonstrate why it is inappropriate to describe nickel oxide or hydroxide and cobalt oxide/hydroxide as pseudocapacitive electrode materials. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is not changed in any way and is properly cited. For permission for commercial reuse, please email: oa@electrochem.org. [DOI: 10.1149/2.0201505jes] All rights reserved.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.0201505jes/pdf

To Be or Not To Be Pseudocapacitive

Asymmetric supercapacitor with high energy density has been developed successfully using graphene/MnO2 composite as positive electrode and activated carbon nanofibers (ACN) as negative electrode in a neutral aqueous Na2SO4 electrolyte. Due to the high capacitances and excellent rate performances of graphene/MnO2 and ACN, as well as the synergistic effects of the two electrodes, such asymmetric cell exhibits superior electrochemical performances. An optimized asymmetric supercapacitor can be cycled reversibly in the voltage range of 0–1.8 V, and exhibits maximum energy density of 51.1 Wh kg−1, which is much higher than that of MnO2//DWNT cell (29.1 Wh kg−1). Additionally, graphene/MnO2//ACN asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling durability, with 97% specific capacitance retained even after 1000 cycles. These encouraging results show great potential in developing energy storage devices with high energy and power densities for practical applications.

Asymmetric Supercapacitors Based on Graphene/MnO2 and Activated Carbon Nanofiber Electrodes with High Power and Energy Density

The performance of a supercapacitor can be characterized by a series of key parameters, including the cell capacitance, operating voltage, equivalent series resistance, power density, energy density, and time constant. To accurately measure these parameters, a variety of methods have been proposed and are used in academia and industry. As a result, some confusion has been caused due to the inconsistencies between different evaluation methods and practices. Such confusion hinders effective communication of new research findings, and creates a hurdle in transferring novel supercapacitor technologies from research labs to commercial applications. Based on public sources, this article is an attempt to inventory, critique and hopefully streamline the commonly used instruments, key performance metrics, calculation methods, and major affecting factors for supercapacitor performance evaluation. Thereafter the primary sources of inconsistencies are identified and possible solutions are suggested, with emphasis on device performance vs. material properties and the rate dependency of supercapacitors. We hope, by using reliable, intrinsic, and comparable parameters produced, the existing inconsistencies and confusion can be largely eliminated so as to facilitate further progress in the field.

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Supercapacitors performance evaluation

In order to enhance energy density, a hybrid type pseudocapacitor/electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) was considered and its electrochemical properties were investigated. At various current densities, stable charge/discharge behaviors were observed with much higher specific capacitance values of 530 F/g compared with that of EDLC (230 F/g), by introducing as a cathode material. By using the modified cathode of a /activated carbon composite electrode, the specific capacitance was less sensitive to charge/discharge current density exhibiting stable power characteristics. © 2001 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.1432245/pdf

An Electrochemical Capacitor Based on a Ni ( OH ) 2/Activated Carbon Composite Electrode

Synthesis and pseudo-capacitance of chemically-prepared polypyrrole powder

Synthesis and pseudo-capacitance of chemically-prepared polypyrrole powder. J Power Sources

http://ma.ecsdl.org/content/MA2005-01/3/164.full.pdf

Electrochemical Characterization of Solid-State Electric Double Layer Capacitors assembled with Sulfonated Poly(Ether Ether Ketone)

Poly(2-cyanoethylpyrrole) films were electrochemically prepared on pt electrode in an organic electrolyte solution. The polymer films were studied using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy with various applied potentials

Jong Huy Kim

Papers

An Electrochemical Capacitor Based on a Ni ( OH ) 2/Activated Carbon Composite Electrode

Synthesis and pseudo-capacitance of chemically-prepared polypyrrole powder

Synthesis and pseudo-capacitance of chemically-prepared polypyrrole powder. J Power Sources

Electrochemical Characterization of Solid-State Electric Double Layer Capacitors assembled with Sulfonated Poly(Ether Ether Ketone)

Synthesis and Spectroelectrochemical Properties of 1-Substituted Polypyrrole