Carbon nitride mediated synthesis of titanium-based electrodes for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

Carbon nitride mediated synthesis of titanium-based electrodes for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

Nano Energy

10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108489

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108489

Wenwen Liu, Jian Liang Cheong, Man-Fai Ng, Jackie Y. Ying

Electrical and Electronic Engineering, General Materials Science, Sustainability and the Environment, renewable energy

02 May 2023

Liu, W., Cheong, J. L., Ng, M.-F., & Ying, J. Y. (2023). Carbon nitride mediated synthesis of titanium-based electrodes for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors. Nano Energy, 112, 108489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108489

Rational design of electrode materials with specific compositions and unique morphological and structural features to achieve supercapacitors (SCs) with high energy densities without compromising their inherent electrochemical merits remains a great challenge. Herein, a carbon nitride (C3N4) mediated “one-for-two” strategy was proposed to synthesize titanium nitride/carbon nanosheets (TiN/C) and titanium carbide/carbon nanosheets (TiC/C) with three-dimensional morphology and hierarchical structure, respectively. The derived TiN/C and TiC/C were used as cathode and anode materials, respectively, with excellent capacitor behavior in aqueous electrolyte. Specifically, asymmetric SCs constructed with the TiN/C cathode and the TiC/C anode delivered a large operation voltage of 0.3–1.8 V, a high specific capacitance of 103 F·g-1, and a remarkable energy density of 45.2 Wh·kg-1, outperforming most of the previously reported TiN- and TiC-based SCs. Ex situ XRD and TEM characterizations as well as DFT simulation indicated that the excellent performance could be attributed to reversible pseudocapacitive redox reaction and electro-adsorbed anions at the TiN/C cathode, and fast adsorption/desorption of cations at the TiC/C anode, as well as unique surface morphology and heterostructure. The strategy presented in this work also provides new design concepts for the synthesis of other transition metal nitrides (or carbides)/carbon composites for other advanced energy applications.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - Career Development Fund
Grant Reference no. : C210812019

This research is supported by core funding from: Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE)
Grant Reference no. :

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/19056

2211-2855

Institute of Materials Research and Engineering