In-situ Functionalization of Metal Electrodes for Advanced Asymmetric Supercapacitors

• Published in: Frontiers in chemistry 2019-07, Vol.7, p.512
• Main Authors: Sun, Leimeng, Wang, Xinghui, Wang, Yurong, Xiao, Dongyang, Cai, Weifan, Jing, Yuan, Wang, Yanrong, Hu, Fangjing, Zhang, Qing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: asymmetric supercapacitors; carbon cloth; carbon nanotubes; Chemistry; in-situ functionalization; metal electrode
• ISSN: 2296-2646; 2296-2646
• DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2019.00512

Nanostructured metal-based compound electrodes with excellent electrochemical activity and electrical conductivity are promising for high-performance energy storage applications. In this paper, we report an asymmetric supercapacitor based on Ti and Cu coated vertical-aligned carbon nanotube electrodes on carbon cloth. The active material is achieved by functionalization using a high-temperature annealing process. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy confirm the detailed nanostructures and composition of the electrodes. The TiC@VCC and Cu S@VCC electrodes show a high specific capacity of 200.89 F g and 228.37 F g , respectively, and good capacitive characteristics at different scan speeds. The excellent performance can be attributed to a large surface area to volume ratio and high electrical conductivity of the electrodes. Furthermore, an asymmetric supercapacitor is assembled with TiC@VCC as anode and Cu S@VCC as cathode. The full device can operate within the 0-1.4 V range, and shows a maximum energy density of 9.12 Wh kg at a power density of 46.88 W kg . These findings suggest that the metal-based asymmetric electrodes have a great potential for supercapacitor applications.