A conductive polymer coated MoO3 anode enables an Al-ion capacitor with high performance. Issue 14 (16th March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Faxing; Liu, Zaichun; Wang, Xiaowei; Yuan, Xinhai; Wu, Xiongwei; Zhu, Yusong; Fu, Lijun; Wu, Yuping
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 4:Issue 14(2016)
• Page Start: 5115
• Page End: 5123
• Publication Date: 2016-03-16
• Subjects: Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/c6ta01398h
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7488

Abstract

Abstract : The feasibility of assembling an Al-ion capacitor with good electrochemical performance is demonstrated. Preliminary results indicate that the fabricated Al-ion capacitor could reversibly cycle in the voltage region of 0–1.5 V and display intriguing performances with an energy density of 30 W h kg −1 . Abstract : Electrochemical capacitors are becoming promising energy conversion/storage and power output devices. However, high cost and low energy density are two serious disadvantages. By integrating the advantages of Li-/Na-ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors, Li-/Na-ion capacitors have been explored recently. Al is very cheap and is the most abundant metal element on the earth. There are few reports on Al-ion capacitors due to the challenges in finding a suitable anode with large capacitance and good rate performance. Here, the feasibility of assembling an Al-ion capacitor with good electrochemical performance is demonstrated. The Al-ion capacitor is assembled by using a composite of MoO3 nanotubes coated by a conductive polypyrrole (PPy@MoO3 ) as an anode, which functions via a redox intercalation/deintercalation of Al 3+ ions in aqueous solution. It delivers a capacitance of 693 F g −1, about 3 times higher than that of electrode materials for sodium-ion capacitors in aqueous solution. Combined with an activated carbon (AC) cathode, the Al-ion capacitor presents an energy density of 30 W h kg −1 and an excellent cycling life with 93% capacitance retention after 1800 cycles. This finding provides another energy storage device with low cost and promotes the application of capacitors.