Hierarchical Fabric Decorated with Carbon Nanowire/Metal Oxide Nanocomposites for 1.6 V Wearable Aqueous Supercapacitors

Abstract

Aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) may offer comparable or higher energy density than electric double‐layer capacitors (EDLCs) based on organic electrolytes. As such, ASCs may be more suitable for integration into smart textiles, where the use of flammable organic solvents is not acceptable. However, reported ASC devices typically suffer from poor rate capability and low areal loadings. This study demonstrates the development of nitrogen‐doped carbon (N‐C) nanowire/metal oxide (Fe2O3 and MnO2) nanocomposite electrodes directly produced on the internal surface of a conductive fabric for use as high‐rate electrodes for solid‐state ASCs. The N‐C nanowires provide fast and efficient pathways for electrons, while short diffusion paths within nanosized metal oxides enable fast ion transport, leading to greatly enhanced performance at high rates. The porous structure of the fabric enables high areal capacitance loading in each electrode (≈150 mF cm−2). Both electrodes show high specific capacitance of ≈180 F g−1 (Fe2O3) and ≈250 F g−1 (MnO2) and excellent rate capability. Solid‐state ASCs assembled by using an aqueous gel electrolyte operate at 1.6 V and deliver over 60 mF cm−2 during ≈50 s charging/discharging time and over 30 mF cm−2 for ≈5 s discharge.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 21, 2018
Source ID
10.1002/aenm.201703454

Entities

People

  • Alexandre Magasinski
  • Enbo Zhao
  • Gleb Yushin
  • Wenbin Fu
  • Xiaolei Ren

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • China Scholarship Council
  • Georgia Tech
  • Lanzhou University

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Electrochemical Engineering/ Fuel Cell Technologies
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Reinforced Composite Materials

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics