Nanostructured metal-oxides for use as high power and energy density storage electrodes

Abstract

The most significant advantage of double layer supercapacitors over batteries is their ability of being almost continuously charged and discharged without degradation. This is why batteries and supercapacitors are complementary to each other. The supercapacitors can supply power to the system when there are surges or energy bursts relying on their fast charge/discharge ability while the batteries can supply the bulk energy since they can store and deliver larger amount of energy over a longer period of time. With the introduction of new electrodes, super-capacitors will provide higher energy densities and charge rapidly with longer lifetimes, relying on the addition of pseudo-capacitance as well as higher surface areas. Pseudo-capacitance is achieved by the use of metal-oxides yielding faradaic reactions over redox couples. Capacitive charge-storage properties of mesoporous films made of complex metal-oxides preferably in core + shell architecture are superior to those of non-porous crystalline metal-oxides. RuO2 yields the highest energy densities however is not attractive for commercial use due to high cost. Other promising candidates are MnO2, Co2O3, NiO, etc. which need to be improved for achievement of long-term stability. Additionally, the type of electrolyte is important to improve the performance of a supercapacitor. This work describes the fabrication and performance of mesoporous double oxides (MnCu, MnNi, MnCo) in aqueous electrolytes. Thin films are deposited by sputtering technique on graphite foils. Specific capacitance, energy and power densities are calculated and the role of electrolyte on electrode performance is discussed.