Symmetric Device Research Articles

Fusarium oxysporum mediated synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon supported platinum nanoparticles for supercapacitor device and dielectric applications

A scalable method has been developed for synthesizing nitrogen-doped carbon-supported platinum nanoparticles. Fusarium oxysporum was utilized as reducing and stabilizing agent, and calcination was employed to produce the carbon support. The unique properties of Fusarium oxysporum facilitate the reduction of metal ions while preventing agglomeration and maintaining nanoparticle stability. An extensive investigation of the electrochemical supercapacitor and temperature-dependent dielectric properties of the nanoparticles demonstrates their suitability for supercapacitor applications. Electrochemical analysis showed N-doped C/Pt NPs with high specific capacitance, 482.77F/g at 2.0 A/g, retaining 94 % capacitance even under 20 A/g after 10,000 cycles. The symmetric supercapacitor device displayed 275F/g at 2 A/g, maintaining 61.10 Wh/kg energy density at 1000 W/kg power density, with ∼ 92 % capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. Dielectric properties of N-doped C/Pt NPs were analyzed at both ambient (300 K) and elevated (450 K) temperatures, revealing temperature-dependent characteristics and alternating current conductivity. At 0.75 MHz, the dielectric permittivity (ɛ’) was measured at 31, with tangent loss at 2.01 and a.c. conductivity at 2.597 × 10-3 O−1 m−1. Increasing the frequency to 6.0 MHz resulted in a 2.38-fold rise in dielectric permittivity and a decrease in tangent loss to 0.77, demonstrating the temperature-sensitive nature of dielectric relaxation.

Harnessing synergies: Gold-polyaniline based symmetric supercapacitor for low-frequency waveform generation

Electrochemical supercapacitors, one of the storage devices, have attracted much attention owing to their high power density, fast charge-discharge and long cycle life. In this study, we present findings of a hybrid system comprised of gold and polyaniline, fabricated via an in-situ, one pot synthesis route and designed for use in symmetric supercapacitor applications. The gold-polyaniline (Au-PANI) based hybrid material was thoroughly characterized using microscopic, optical, and surface analytical techniques to gain a comprehensive understanding of the system. The electrochemical performance of Au-PANI based electrode was examined using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The hybrid system exhibited maximum specific capacitance (CS) 387 F/g at the current density of 12 A/g for three electrode system. The symmetric supercapacitor exhibited a maximum specific capacity (QS) 303 mAh/g at the current density of 0.1 A/g and achieved a maximum energy density (ED) and power density (PD) of 243 mWh/kg and 619 W/kg at the current density of 0.1 A/g and 0.9 A/g, respectively. Further, the Au-PANI based symmetric device was applied to generate low-frequency waveforms.

Electrochemical Investigation of ZnS/NiO Nanocomposite based Symmetric Supercapattery

AbstractSupercapattery is an ideal energy storage device combining the features of supercapacitors and batteries, offers a high‐energy density as well as high‐power density with extended operational lifespan. In this work, zinc sulfide (ZnS) and zinc sulfide/nickel oxide (ZnS/NiO) nanocomposite was synthesized via chemical coprecipitation method and characterized using state‐of‐the‐art analytical tools. The ZnS/NiO electrode exhibited remarkable electrochemical performance as an electrode material than pure ZnS. The ZnS/NiO nanocomposite exhibited high crystallinity, and spherical nanoparticles with an average grain size of 20–40 nm having a homogeneous dispersion. The ZnS/NiO electrode exhibited an ultrahigh specific capacity of 1803.87 Cg−1 at a relatively low scan rate of 10 mVs−1 in a 1 M KOH solution from cyclic voltammetry and 393 Cg−1 at 16 Ag−1 from charge discharge measurements, and it showed exceptional cycling stability (98 % capacity retention after 1000 cycles). Furthermore, the ZnS/NiO symmetric supercapattery device exhibited 44.43 Fg−1 specific capacitance, 5.52 Wh kg−1 energy density, and 1600 Wkg−1 power density at current density of 0.8 Ag−1 in 1 M KOH solution from galvanostatic charge discharge. After 3000 cycles, the ZnS/NiO nanomaterial demonstrated promising cyclic stability of 95 %. The ZnS/NiO supercapattery nanocomposite might be considered as a potential hybrid electrode material for the future development of electrochemical energy storage devices.

Self-assembled monolayers of reduced graphene oxide for robust 3D-printed supercapacitors

Herein, additive manufacturing, which is extremely promising in different sectors, has been adopted in the electrical energy storage field to fabricate efficient materials for supercapacitor applications. In particular, Al2O3-, steel-, and Cu-based microparticles have been used for the realization of 3D self-assembling materials covered with reduced graphene oxide to be processed through additive manufacturing. Functionalization of the particles with amino groups and a subsequent "self-assembly" step with graphene oxide, which was contextually partially reduced to rGO, was carried out. To further improve the electrical conductivity and AM processability, the composites were coated with a polyaniline-dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid complex and further blended with PLA. Afterward, they were extruded in the form of filaments, printed through the fused deposition modeling technique, and assembled into symmetrical solid-state devices. Electrochemical tests showed a maximum mass capacitance of 163 F/g, a maximum energy density of 15 Wh/Kg at 10 A/g, as well as good durability (85% capacitance retention within 5000 cycles) proving the effectiveness of the preparation and the efficiency of the as-manufactured composites.

Rational design of copper phosphate based polyanionic framework for high performance supercapacitor

The key to high-performing supercapacitors is their abundance, low cost, and ability to deliver high capacitance in a wide electrochemical window. A new class of phosphate-based polyanion material has been developed to deliver high capacitance via the effective utilization of their oxidation states. Cu3(PO4)2 was synthesized by the facile hydrothermal technique and delivers an ultra high specific capacitance of about 814 F/g with multiple discharge plateaus at a current density of 1 A/g within a voltage window ranging from 0.4 v to -1.2 V. This intriguing behavior is mainly due to the multi functional Cu while interacts with the electrolytic ions and also the inductive effect of a phosphate group (PO4)2− contributes to a high discharge voltage of -1.2 V during charging and discharging process. It shows exceptional cyclic stability of 100 % over 10,000 cycles without sacrificing its coulombic efficiency and it is pertinent the structural stability of the system. The symmetric device was fabricated and delivered power density and energy density of 4.5 kW/kg and 31.5 Wh/kg, and also maintained excellent cyclic stability at 92 % with high reversibility of charged ions. This offers new insights into the high potential of using polyanion-type compounds as high-capacity materials for advanced energy storage systems.

Unveiling the marine Sargassum horneri material for energy and active sensor devices: Towards multitasking approaches

The quest for a future with greater environmental sustainability has led to a rising focus on investigating innovative methods for energy production and storage. However, marine invasions have steadily increased over the past two centuries, necessitating innovative approaches for the remediation and preservation of oceanic environments. Especially, Sargassum horneri (S. horneri) is a brown algae that causes massive floating macroalgal blooms along the coasts of East Asia. Given these facts, this paper develops high-performance triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), and electrode material for both supercapacitor and water-splitting devices based on S. horneri. The TENG device, constructed using S. horneri coastal bio-waste collected from Jeju Island, yields impressive results. The output current, voltage and power generated by the S. horneri-based triboelectric nanogenerator (SH-TENG) is around 47 µA, 775 V, and 2880 µW, respectively. The electrochemical analysis of carbon derived from S. horneri reveals an excellent electrode capacitance of 225 F/g at 2.5 mA. Constructing the symmetric supercapacitor device using S. horneri-derived carbon, which shows excellent energy and power densities around 14.85 Wh/kg and 972.22 W/kg, with remarkable cyclic stability of 81.3 % for 5000 GCD cycles at 7 mA. On the other hand, the developed S. horneri electrode demonstrated much-improved activity towards water splitting application, exhibiting overpotentials of 0.101 V and 0.198 V for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at an applied current density of 20 mA/cm2, respectively. The fabricated sample also demonstrated the lowest Tafel values towards HER (119 mv/dec) and for OER (109 mv/dec). Finally, the time series analysis (TSA) technique was employed for modeling and prediction of capacity retention of the SH//SH supercapacitor and electrochemical potential (E) of SH/NF║SH/NF cell. In both cases, the mean squared error between experimental and predicted data was very small, suggesting the TSA is a powerful statistical technique to model and predict the vial features of the electrochemical devices. Overall, these results suggest that S. horneri-derived carbon presents a viable alternative in the realm of energy storage and harvesting, promising sustainable technological advancements.

Utilization of shea butter waste-derived hierarchical activated carbon for high-performance supercapacitor applications

In this work, carbonization and subsequent activation procedures were adopted to synthesize waste shea butter shells into oxygen-rich interconnected porous activated carbon (SAC_x, x is the mass ratio of KOH used for activation). The SAC_1.5 electrode material showed outstanding electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance (286.6 F/g) and improved rate capability, owing to various synergistic effects originating from a high specific surface area (1233.5 m2/g) and O-rich content. The SAC_1.5-based symmetric device delivered an impressive specific capacitance of 91.6 F/g with a high energy density of 12.7 Wh/kg at 0.5 A/g. The device recorded 99.9 % capacitance retention after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. The symmetric supercapacitor device successfully lit an LED bulb for more than 1 h, signifying the potential of bio-waste as an efficient carbon precursor for electrode material in practical supercapacitors. This work offers an efficient, affordable, and environmentally friendly strategy for potential renewable energy storage devices.

Nitrogen-enriched nanoporous polytriazine as efficient electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor application in non-aqueous medium with high cyclic stability

Nitrogen-enriched nanoporous polytriazine (NENP) synthesized by conventional heating method possesses a high specific surface area (SABET) of 966 m2 g−1, controlled pore size distribution (1.6, 5, and 8.3 nm) and total pore volume of 2.73 cm3 g−1. The synthesized specimen was utilized as an electrode material for supercapacitor (SC) application in non-aqueous media. The electrodes of NENP were fabricated by two approaches viz., conventional binder-based method and a binder-free electrophoretic deposition (EPD) approach. In case of electrode fabrication by controlled EPD process, the mass of 0.58 mg was obtained as the optimized mass achieved at pH = 2, deposition voltage = 20 V and deposition time = 6 min. The optimized electrodes and tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in adiponitrile (TEA-BF4/ADP) non-aqueous electrolyte were used to fabricate symmetric supercapacitor devices (SC). The SC device, with EPD- based binder-free electrodes, exhibited higher specific capacitance (Csp = 84 F g−1), energy density (Esp = 118.8 Wh kg−1) and power density (Psp = 17 kW kg−1) compared to SC device (49 F g−1, 68.8 Wh kg−1, and 11 kW kg−1 at 0.8 A g−1) fabricated using electrode made from the binder based method. To enhance the SC performance, KI was added as a redox additive to the non-aqueous electrolyte (TEA-BF4/ADP). The SC device, with NENP binder-free electrodes and redox-active nonaqueous electrolyte (TEA-BF4/ADP/KI), achieved the highest Csp, Esp, and Psp (112 F g−1, 150.5 Wh kg−1, and 27 kW kg−1) and demonstrated high cyclic stability (~80.2 % initial capacitance retention after 30,000 cycles, at 5 A g−1).

MnO2 Nanoparticles Decorated PEDOT:PSS for High Performance Stretchable and Transparent Supercapacitors.

With the swift advancement of wearable electronics and artificial intelligence, the integration of electronic devices with the human body has advanced significantly, leading to enhanced real-time health monitoring and remote disease diagnosis. Despite progress in developing stretchable materials with skin-like mechanical properties, there remains a need for materials that also exhibit high optical transparency. Supercapacitors, as promising energy storage devices, offer advantages such as portability, long cycle life, and rapid charge/discharge rates, but achieving high capacity, stretchability, and transparency simultaneously remains challenging. This study combines the stretchable, transparent polymer PEDOT:PSS with MnO2 nanoparticles to develop high-performance, stretchable, and transparent supercapacitors. PEDOT:PSS films were deposited on a PDMS substrate using a spin-coating method, followed by electrochemical deposition of MnO2 nanoparticles. This method ensured that the nanosized MnO2 particles were uniformly distributed, maintaining the transparency and stretchability of PEDOT:PSS. The resulting PEDOT:PSS/MnO2 nanoparticle electrodes were gathered into a symmetric device using a LiCl/PVA gel electrolyte, achieving an areal capacitance of 1.14 mF cm-2 at 71.2% transparency and maintaining 89.92% capacitance after 5000 cycles of 20% strain. This work presents a scalable and economical technique to manufacturing supercapacitors that combine high capacity, transparency, and mechanical stretchability, suggesting potential applications in wearable electronics.

DBN-protected material Enhanced intrusion prevention sensor system defends against cyber attacks in the IoT devices

By linking objects globally, the Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed technology with the goal of achieving an unparalleled degree of intelligence that will benefit mankind in many areas. Resilient applications in safety, healthcare, and industrial processes rely heavily on continuous connectivity and interaction with surrounding objects. But the IoT ecosystem's enormous number of businesses and apps significantly raises the possibility of unwanted access, raising worries about cyberattacks. It is important to protect symmetrical networks used in modern communication from these dangers. With an emphasis on a sophisticated intrusion detection and prevention system based on Deep Belief Symmetrical Networks (DBNs), this study investigates cutting edge techniques and tactics for preventing security breaches. Our research specifically investigates possibly dangerous behaviour within IoT symmetrical networks and attempts to determine its source. We present a DBN-protected material improved symmetrical intrusion prevention sensor system that improves IoT device security. We improve the system's capacity to identify and prevent cyber-attacks by exploiting DBNs. We compare the suggested method's performance to industry-standard Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) algorithms and Domain Generation Algorithms (DGAs) to assess its effectiveness. We create results that demonstrate the usefulness of our method in fighting against cyber-attacks in the IoT environment through rigorous research and testing. This study advances the development of safe IoT Symmetrical devices and encourages the full realization of their promise in allowing a connected and intelligent world.

Electroactive Ionic Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity for High-Performance Capacitive Energy Storage.

Here, an ionic polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) as a high-functioning supercapacitor electrode without the need for conductive additives or binders is reported. The performance of this material is directly related to its large accessible surface area. By comparing electrochemical performance between a porous viologen PIM and a nonporous viologen polymer, it is revealed that the high energy and power density are both due to the ability of ions to rapidly access the ionic PIM. In 0.1m H2SO4 electrolyte, a pseudocapacitve energy of 315 F g-1 is observed, whereas in 0.1m Na2SO4, a capacitive energy density of 250 F g-1 is obtained. In both cases, this capacity is retained over 10000 charge-discharge cycles, without the need for stabilizing binders or conductive additives even at moderate loadings (5mg cm-2). This desirable performance is maintained in a prototype symmetric two-electrode capacitor device, which has >99% Coloumbic efficiency and a <10 mF capacity drop over 2000 cycles. These results demonstrate that ionic PIMs function well as standalone supercapacitor electrodes and suggest ionic PIMs may perform well in other electrochemical devices such as sensors, ion-separation membranes, or displays.

Unravelling the electrochemistry of Ni-MOF derived nickel phosphide/carbon composite electrode and redox additive electrolyte for high performance supercapacitors

The performance and operation of an energy storage device are significantly influenced by the electrolyte and electrode materials. Therefore, it is crucial to develop an electrode material with a rational design and achieve compatibility with the electrolyte. In this study, we prepare Ni-MOF derived nickel phosphides/carbon (NP@C) nanostructure as an electrode for supercapacitor application. The as synthesized material provides more redox-active sites, better spatial utilization, improved conductivity, and a high-polarized surface that will speed up ion migration at electrode/electrolyte. Also, the usage of redox additive electrolyte (0.2 M K3[Fe (CN)6] in 1 M Na2SO4) further complements the redox active sites and hence the improved charge transport. Therefore, NP@C electrode achieved a remarkable 2136.3 F/g of capacitance at 3 A/g with 90.6 % of capacitance retention after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. In addition, the surface-diffusion studies confirms that NP@C shows high diffusion contribution of 82.6 % in redox electrolyte than that of 25.1 % in 1 M Na2SO4. Furthermore, NP@C//NP@C symmetric supercapacitor device in redox additive electrolyte also delivered remarkable performance rendering high energy density of 52.5 Wh/kg at a power density of 750 W/kg. In addition, NP@C//NP@C also shows the long-term stability with attenuating only 7.2 % of initial capacitance value after 10000 charge-discharge cycles. In addition to this, the device performs extremely well when tested for self-discharge studies. Hence, this study demonstrates the perfect harmony of NP@C electrodes and redox additive electrolyte to fabricate a high-performance supercapacitor.

Improved Capacitive Performance of High‐Voltage Electric Double‐Layer Capacitors by Electrolyte Optimization Using Hierarchically Porous Carbon Electrodes

Advancement of the voltage window with stringent safety concerns is an imperative strategy to enhance the energy densities and output power delivery of electrical double‐layer capacitors (EDLCs). Solid‐state, water‐in‐salt (WIS), and ionic liquid‐based electrolytes are attractive and ideal choices for high‐voltage EDLCs due to their superior voltage window, electrochemical performance, and predominant safety aspects. Mindful of this, the current report demonstrates the electrochemical performance of new nanoporous carbon electrodes derived from waste dry leaves of Swietenia macrophylla with a high specific surface area (SSA) (1834 m2 g−1) in polymer–gel, WIS, and ionic liquids‐based electrolytes. Symmetric EDLC devices are fabricated using polymer gel solid‐state (PVA–Na2SO4), ionic liquids (EMIMBF4), and WIS (21 m LiTFSI) electrolytes with the electrochemical stability windows of (ESW) 2, 2.5, and 2 V, respectively. The assembled devices with Na2SO4/PVA, EMIMBF4, and 21 m LiTFSI (WIS) electrolytes‐based devices exhibit high energy densities of 40, 31, and 25 Wh kg−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and good output power delivery of 5, 6.23, and 3 kW kg−1 at 5 A g−1 with better cyclability features. Self‐discharging studies and systematic evaluation of high‐voltage EDLCs offer a sustainable method to develop high‐performance aqueous and diverse electrolyte‐based supercapacitors.

Friendly Environmental Strategies to Recycle Zinc-Carbon Batteries for Excellent Gel Polymer Electrolyte (PVA-ZnSO4-H2SO4) and Carbon Materials for Symmetrical Solid-State Supercapacitors.

In this report, we introduce a novel idea to prepare a redox additive in a gel polymer electrolyte system of PVA-ZnSO4-H2SO4 based on zinc-carbon battery recycling. Here, zinc cans from spent zinc-carbon batteries are dissolved completely in 1 M H2SO4 to obtain a redox additive in an aqueous electrolyte of ZnSO4-H2SO4. Moreover, carbon nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets were synthesized from carbon rod and carbon powder from spent zinc-carbon batteries by only one step of washing and electrochemical exfoliation, respectively, which have good electrochemical capability. The three-electrode system using a ZnSO4-H2SO4 electrolyte with carbon nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets as working electrodes shows high electrochemical adaptability, which points out its promising application in supercapacitor devices. Thus, the symmetrical solid-state supercapacitor devices based on the sandwich structure of graphene nanosheets/PVA-ZnSO4-H2SO4/graphene nanosheets illustrated the highest energy density of 39.17 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1700 W kg-1. While symmetrical devices based on carbon nanoparticles/PVA-ZnSO4-H2SO4/carbon nanoparticles exhibited a maximum energy density of 35.65 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1700 W kg-1. Moreover, these devices illustrate strong durability after 5000 cycles, with approximately 90.2% and 73.1% remaining, respectively. These results provide a promising strategy for almost completely recycling zinc-carbon batteries, one of the most popular dry batteries.

Ferrimagnetic pseudocapacitive MnFe2O4 electrodes and supercapacitor devices

This investigation is motivated by the surge of interest in materials, combining high spontaneous magnetization and pseudocapacitance at room temperature. Ferrimagnetic MnFe2O4 offers benefits of high magnetization. However, the non-pseudocapacitive behavior, low capacitance and high resistance of MnFe2O4 are limiting factors for its applications in magnetic pseudocapacitive devices. This investigation demonstrates that nearly ideal pseudocapacitive behavior can be achieved for MnFe2O4 electrodes in Na2SO4 electrolyte. High pseudocapacitance is observed in positive and negative potential ranges and two different charging mechanisms are proposed. High capacitance is achieved at a low impedance. The ability to achieve comparable and high areal capacitances in the positive and negative potential ranges facilitates the fabrication of a symmetric pseudocapacitive device, containing ferrimagnetic MnFe2O4 as cathode and anode material for operation in enlarged voltage window of 1.6 V. The symmetric device shows capacitance of 0.92 F cm−2 at a current density of 3 mA cm−2. The individual electrodes and device show good cycling stability. The approach is based on the use of murexide and gallocyanine as redox-active dispersants and charge transfer mediators. The analysis of testing results provides an insight into the influence of chemical structure, charge and redox properties of the dispersants on the capacitive behavior. The ability to fabricate a pseudocapacitive device, containing two ferrimagnetic electrodes is promising for energy storage, water purification and novel applications based on magnetocapacitive effects.

Phenolic resin filled wood-derived hierarchically porous carbon monolith for high areal capacitance supercapacitors

Wood-based electrodes are widely used in supercapacitors due to their renewable and three-dimensional self-supported properties. Low space utilization of wood-based electrodes seriously restricts its practical applications. In this paper, a wood/phenolic resin composite was designed, which can effectively enhance the space utilization of wood and ensure a hierarchical porous structure. The prepared balsa wood/phenolic resin composite-derived electrode obtained a high areal capacitance (8169 mF cm–2), which is 954 % of pure balsa wood-based electrode. Moreover, the assembled symmetrical supercapacitor device exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, displaying a high areal capacitance of 3.3 F cm–2, and a competitive volumetric energy density of 2.88 mWh cm–3. More importantly, this design has been successfully used to prepare various species wood-derived electrodes. Therefore, as a general strategy, which gives a novel idea for the design of wood-derived electrodes and may affect other fields using wood-based materials.

Single-step, in-situ fabrication of flower-like NiCuMn hybrid oxyhydroxide electrodes for enhanced supercapacitor performance

The rational design of highly active and low-cost electrode material is very promising for energy storage applications. The development of supercapacitors with high energy/power density is an imperative and challenging research objective. Herein, we report a highly facile synthesis approach for developing unique nano-porous hybrid NiCuMn oxyhydroxide architecture with remarkable electrochemical energy storage characteristics. The process involves dealloying of Ni15Cu15Mn70 alloy in an oxygen rich environment, resulting in a uniform 3-dimensional flower like morphology. The dealloyed electrode demonstrates ultra-high specific capacitance of 4110 F cm−3 at a high current density of 20 mA cm−2. A symmetric device exhibits a high volumetric capacitance of 365 F cm−3 at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a large potential window of 1.7 V. Even at very high-power density of 850 W l−1, the device exhibits a high energy density of 146 Wh l−1 along with remarkable cyclic stability of 95.4% after 10 000 cycles. The superior performance of nano-porous hybrid NiCuMn oxyhydroxide architecture was attributed to its unique microstructure that provides high surface area, and marginal internal resistance ensuring rapid charge transport.

Iron Sulfide Microspheres Supported on Cellulose-Carbon Nanotube Conductive Flexible Film as an Electrode Material for Aqueous-Based Symmetric Supercapacitors with High Voltage.

Nanostructured iron disulfide (FeS2) was uniformly deposited on regenerated cellulose (RC) and oxidized carbon nanotube (CNT)-based composite films using a simple chemical bath deposition method to form RC/CNT/FeS2 composite films. The RC/CNT composite film served as an ideal substrate for the homogeneous deposition of FeS2 microspheres due to its unique porous architecture, large specific surface area, and high conductivity. Polypyrrole (PPy), a conductive polymer, was coated on the RC/CNT/FeS2 composite to improve its conductivity and cycling stability. Due to the synergistic effect of FeS2 with high redox activity and PPy with high stability and conductivity, the RC/CNT/FeS2/PPy composite electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical performance. The RC/CNT/0.3FeS2/PPy-60 composite electrode tested with Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte could achieve an excellent areal capacitance of 6543.8 mF cm-2 at a current density of 1 mA cm-2. The electrode retained 91.1% of its original capacitance after 10,000 charge/discharge cycles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the ion transfer channels with a pore diameter of 5-30 μm were formed in the RC/CNT/0.3FeS2/PPy-60 film after a 10,000 cycle test. A symmetrical supercapacitor device composed of two identical pieces of RC/CNT/0.3FeS2/PPy-60 composite electrodes provided a high areal capacitance of 1280 mF cm-2, a maximum energy density of 329 μWh cm-2, a maximum power density of 24.9 mW cm-2, and 86.2% of capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 40 mA cm-2 when tested at a wide voltage window of 1.4 V. These results demonstrate the greatest potential of RC/CNT/FeS2/PPy composite electrodes for the fabrication of high-performance symmetric supercapacitors with high operating voltages.

Eco-friendly preparation of nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials for enhanced solid-state supercapacitor device

In the last years, researchers all over the world have been looking for biomass-derived porous carbon materials, due to the possibilities for large-scale synthesis, easy to control the pore structure, and high specific surface area. Activated heteroatom doped porous carbon (AHPC) with a high porosity was made by treating inexpensive waste Ficus elastica leaves with a base. The electrochemical performance of the produced activated carbon has been evaluated in various electrolytes, including basic, neutral, and acidic electrolytes. At a current density of 1 A/g in the acidic electrolyte, the specific capacitance of the activated carbon AHPC electrode is higher, 456 F/g, compared to other electrolytes. The symmetric supercapacitor device is built using PVA-H2SO4 gel electrolyte, and its electrochemical performance is evaluated. In addition, the energy density of the built symmetric supercapacitor device is higher than the existing commercial supercapacitors, achieving 62 Wh/kg at a power density of 15.2 kW/kg. This is because the porous carbon has a hierarchical pore distribution and a heteroatom-enriched structure, which allows for rapid charge/mass diffusion channels, and a vast ion-accessible network.

Transition Metals Co, Ni, Mn Based Bimetallic Sulfides as an Efficient Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Using Graphite Counter Electrode Extracted from Spent Battery

The clean and green hydrogen energy production by electrochemical process is gaining great attention in recent years. For this, designing an efficient and cost-effective electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is highly desirable. Herein, Co-Ni-Mn based bimetallic sulfides electrocatalysts are developed for HER in 1 M KOH. Owing to the presence of abundant electrochemical active sites and micro flower-like morphology, the fabricated Co-Ni-S, Ni-Mn-S, Co-Mn-S electrodes deliver the small overpotential of 136, 112, 75 mV to reach the current density of 10 mA cm−2. For practical applications, the commercially available 1.6 V battery is used to drive the overall water splitting process of the device fabricated with the two-electrode system (symmetric device). In addition to this, in this research work, a graphite rod extracted from a spent battery is directly used as a counter electrode for the entire electrochemical study to substitute platinum (Pt) counter electrode. This approach is sustainable as well as eco-friendly.