C60/Na4FeO3/Li3V2(PO4)3/soft carbon quaternary hybrid superstructure for high-performance battery-supercapacitor hybrid devices

• Published in: NPG Asia materials Vol. 12; no. 1
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xudong, Xu, Xiaolong, Hu, Yuebo, Xu, Guogang, He, Wen, Zhu, Jiefang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 140/133; 639/301; 639/638/161/891; Advantages; Biomaterials; Buckminsterfullerene; Carbon; Charge transfer; Chemistry and Materials Science; Design optimization; Electroactive materials; Electrodes; Energy; Energy storage; Energy Systems; Flux density; Fullerenes; Materials Science; Nanocomposites; Optical and Electronic Materials; Storage batteries; Structural Materials; Supercapacitors; Superstructures; Surface and Interface Science; Thin Films
• ISSN: 1884-4049; 1884-4057
• DOI: 10.1038/s41427-019-0189-8

To develop battery-supercapacitor hybrid devices with high energy and power densities, we propose a rational design of a quaternary hybrid superstructure by using a high-energy biotemplate. This new superstructure is composed of stable fullerene C 60 nanocages, electroactive Na 4 FeO 3 , high-energy Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 and soft carbon as well as tubular ordered mesoporous channels. This design takes advantage of the unique properties of each component, resulting in nanocomposites with synergistic effects to improve the charge transfer and energy storage. We found that this quaternary hybrid electrode has both high energy and power densities as well as a long cycling life in a Li/Na mixed-ion electrolyte, outperforming a multitude of other battery-supercapacitor hybrid devices reported thus far. The charge storage mechanisms of this hybrid superstructure are proposed for optimizing the electrode design. Energy storage: Combining the best of batteries and supercapacitors An energy-storage device that has the advantages of both batteries and supercapacitors has been developed by researchers in China and Sweden. Batteries can store a lot of energy in a small space: they have a high energy density. Supercapacitors, on the other hand, can be more quickly charged and discharged: they have a high power density. Wen He from the Qilu University of Technology in Jinan, Jiefang Zhu from Uppsala University and their colleagues have created a hybrid energy-storage device that has both high energy density and high power density. Their device uses a wide range of different materials combining carbon nanocages, soft carbon, and the electroactive material Na 4 FeO 3 . This design takes advantage of the unique properties of each component, resulting in improved charge transfer and energy storage. Achieving both high energy and high power densities in one hybrid energy-storage device is highly challenging, yet critically important for many applications. Here, the authors demonstrate that the inherent limitations of batteries and supercapacitors can be solved by developing a quaternary hybrid superstructure electrode using a high-energy biotemplate.