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Advanced Materials for Supercapacitors: Synthesis, Electrochemical Behavior and Surface Analysis

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2024 | Viewed by 3134

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Physical Metallurgy, Metal Forming and Nanotechnology, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemvaros, Hungary
Interests: supercapacitors; energy storage; electrochemical processes; nanocomposites; interfacial phenomena; nanostructured coatings; nanomaterial synthesis

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Guest Editor
Institute of Physical Metallurgy, Metal Forming and Nanotechnology, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc-Egyetemvaro , Hungary
Interests: supercapacitors; energy storage; electrochemical measurements; PVD coatings; nano-multilayers; electrodeposition; electroless methods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors, are at the frontline of efficient, state-of-the-art energy storage technology developments, bridging the gap between conventional capacitors and batteries. Their special energy storage mechanisms make them ideal for modern applications requiring quick bursts of power such as electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and electronic devices.

The roots of supercapacitors can be traced back to the 1950s, when researchers began exploring electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). In these devices, the energy was stored by electrostatically separating charges at the interface between a high surface area electrode and an electrolyte. Later on, in the 1990s, the research focus shifted towards pseudocapacitors, a new class of supercapacitors which store energy through faradaic redox reactions confined to the electrode/electrolyte interface. Transition-metal compounds and conducting polymers became popular electrode materials, offering higher energy densities compared to EDLCs. With the advances in nanomaterial synthesis, such as the use of graphene and carbon nanotubes, the surface area of electrodes could be greatly increased, further enhancing the capacitance and energy storage capabilities. These materials also contributed to the appearance and development of wearable lightweight electronic devices. Furthermore, a new approach combining the advantages of EDLCs and pseudocapacitors led to the development of hybrid supercapacitors, balancing between a high power output and high energy storage capability.

Today, innovations in electrolyte technology, including the use of ionic liquids and solid (gel) electrolytes, new electrode materials such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs) or MXenes, are the main focus of studies focused on achieving further improvements in the performance, stability and safety of supercapacitors. The integration of supercapacitors with other energy storage technologies, such as batteries, is also a key area of ongoing research aiming to achieve optimal energy solutions.

The aim of the Special Issue is to provide an opportunity for representatives of the academic sector and industry to publish results related to the development and investigations of supercapacitors that offer promising solutions to future energy needs.

We are pleased to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. Full papers, communications and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Péter Baumli
Dr. Máté Czagány
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • supercapacitors
  • energy storage
  • pseudocapacitance
  • EDLC
  • electrode materials
  • electrolytes
  • nanotechnology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2994 KiB  
Article
Supercapacitor Electrodes: Is Nickel Foam the Right Substrate for Active Materials?
by Milena P. Dojčinović, Ivana Stojković Simatović and Maria Vesna Nikolić
Materials 2024, 17(6), 1292; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17061292 - 11 Mar 2024
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Abstract
Ni foam is an extensively used current collector and substrate in investigations of electrochemically active materials such as supercapacitors and electrocatalysts for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions. This material is relatively cheap, porous, and conductive and has a large specific surface area, all [...] Read more.
Ni foam is an extensively used current collector and substrate in investigations of electrochemically active materials such as supercapacitors and electrocatalysts for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions. This material is relatively cheap, porous, and conductive and has a large specific surface area, all of which make it a good substrate. We investigated Ni-Mg ferrites and NiMn2O4 as active materials for electrochemical energy storage. These materials, when loaded on Ni foam, gave promising capacitance values: 172 F/g (at 2 mV/s) for NiMn2O4 in 6 M KOH and 242 F/g (at 2 mV/s) for MgFe2O4 in 3 M KOH. Nevertheless, during the authors’ work, many experimental problems occurred. Inconsistencies in the results directed further investigation towards measuring the capacitance of the active materials using GCE and platinum electrodes as substrates to discover if Ni foam was the culprit of the inconsistencies. When non-nickel substrates were used, both NiMn2O4 and MgFe2O4 showed reduced capacitance. Experimental problems associated with the utilization of Ni foam as a substrate for active materials in supercapacitor electrodes are discussed here, combined with other problems already addressed in the scientific literature. Full article
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Review

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33 pages, 8536 KiB  
Review
Supercapacitors: An Efficient Way for Energy Storage Application
by Mate Czagany, Szabolcs Hompoth, Anup Kumar Keshri, Niranjan Pandit, Imre Galambos, Zoltan Gacsi and Peter Baumli
Materials 2024, 17(3), 702; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17030702 - 01 Feb 2024
Viewed by 2012
Abstract
To date, batteries are the most widely used energy storage devices, fulfilling the requirements of different industrial and consumer applications. However, the efficient use of renewable energy sources and the emergence of wearable electronics has created the need for new requirements such as [...] Read more.
To date, batteries are the most widely used energy storage devices, fulfilling the requirements of different industrial and consumer applications. However, the efficient use of renewable energy sources and the emergence of wearable electronics has created the need for new requirements such as high-speed energy delivery, faster charge–discharge speeds, longer lifetimes, and reusability. This leads to the need for supercapacitors, which can be a good complement to batteries. However, one of their drawbacks is their lower energy storage capability, which has triggered worldwide research efforts to increase their energy density. With the introduction of novel nanostructured materials, hierarchical pore structures, hybrid devices combining these materials, and unconventional electrolytes, significant developments have been reported in the literature. This paper reviews the short history of the evolution of supercapacitors and the fundamental aspects of supercapacitors, positioning them among other energy-storage systems. The main electrochemical measurement methods used to characterize their energy storage features are discussed with a focus on their specific characteristics and limitations. High importance is given to the integral components of the supercapacitor cell, particularly to the electrode materials and the different types of electrolytes that determine the performance of the supercapacitor device (e.g., storage capability, power output, cycling stability). Current directions in the development of electrode materials, including carbonaceous forms, transition metal-based compounds, conducting polymers, and novel materials are discussed. The synergy between the electrode material and the current collector is a key factor, as well as the fine-tuning of the electrode material and electrolyte. Full article
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