Metal Oxide/Graphene Composites for Supercapacitive Electrode Materials

Graphene composites with metal or metal oxide nanoparticles have been extensively investigated owing to their potential applications in the fields of fuel cells, batteries, sensing, solar cells, and catalysis. Among them, much research has focused on supercapacitor applications and have come close to realization. Composites include monometal oxides of cobalt, nickel, manganese, and iron, as well as their binary and ternary oxides. In addition, their morphological control and hybrid systems of carbon nanotubes have also been investigated. This review presents the current trends in research on metal oxide/graphene composites for supercapacitors. Furthermore, methods are suggested to improve the properties of electrochemical capacitor electrodes.     

A review of transition metal chalcogenide/graphene nanocomposites for energy storage and conversion

Recent advances in the applications of transition metal chalcogenides/graphene (TMC/graphene) nanocomposites in future energy storage and conversion are reviewed. The synthesis processes and structures of TMC/graphene, workingpriciple of evergy energy device, and the electrochemical performances are summarized.     

NiO/CNTs derived from metal-organic frameworks as superior anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In this work, porous NiO microspheres interconnected by carbon nanotubes (NiO/CNTs) were successfully fabricated by the pyrolysis of nickel metal-organic framework precursors with CNTs and evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The structures, morphologies, and electrochemical performances of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption-desorption, field emission scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that the introduction of CNTs can improve the lithium-ion storage performance of NiO/CNT composites. Especially, NiO/CNTs-10 exhibits the highest reversible capacity of 812 mAh g^?1 at 100 mA g^?1 after 100 cycles. Even cycled at 2 A g^?1, it still maintains a stable capacity of 502 mAh g^?1 after 300 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance of NiO/CNT composites should be attributed to the formation of 3D conductive network structure with porous NiO microspheres linked by CNTs, which benefits the electron transfer ability and the buffering of the volume expansion during the cycling process.     

石墨烯包覆天然球形石墨作为锂离子电池的负极材料，是否需要乙炔黑导电剂？

我们通过包覆炭化的方法制备得到了石墨烯包覆的天然球形石墨(G/SG)材料,并使用扫描电子显微镜、X射线衍射仪以及多种电化学测试手段考察了不同石墨烯含量的复合材料的形貌结构及电化学性能。我们发现,在不添加乙炔黑(AB)的情况下,G/SG复合材料表现出较高的首次库伦效率,很好的循环稳定性和高倍率性能。当石墨烯包覆量为1%时,材料50次循环后的可逆容量可与添加10%AB的天然石墨电极(SG)等同;当石墨烯包覆量为2.5%时,材料的比容量完全高于添加10%AB的石墨电极。材料电化学性能的改善归因于石墨烯的包覆。一方面,石墨烯的柔软可变性可以保证天然石墨颗粒在充放电过程中的结构完整性,从而有效改善材料的循环稳定性;另一方面,石墨烯的存在提高了电极的导电性,促进更好导电网络的形成。因此,石墨烯包覆天然球形石墨材料中,石墨烯不仅是活性物质,也发挥导电剂的作用。当添加5%的乙炔黑时,在50 mA·g^-1电流循环50次后,5%G/SG电极的可逆容量从381.1 mAh·g^-1提高到404.5 mAh·g^-1,在1 A·g^-1电流时可逆容量从82.5 mAh·g^-1提高到101.9 mAh·g^-1,这表明G/SG电极仍然需要乙炔黑导电剂。乙炔黑颗粒填充在复合材料的空隙中,通过点接触的形式连接到G/SG颗粒,与石墨烯协同作用形成了更加有效的导电网络。尽管石墨烯包覆和乙炔黑添加对天然石墨电极具有积极的影响,例如增加了天然石墨电极的导电性和储锂性能(包括可逆容量,倍率性能和循环性能),但随着石墨烯或乙炔黑的增加,电极密度通常会降低。因此,在实际应用中应考虑石墨负极材料的质量和体积容量的平衡。这些结果对天然石墨的进一步商业应用具有重要意义。我们的工作为天然石墨电极在锂电池中的电化学行为提供了一种新的认识,并且有助于制备更高性能的负极材料。     

碳材料在电化学储能中的应用

电化学储能材料是电化学储能器件发展及性能提高的关键之一. 碳材料在各种电化学储能体系中都起到了极为重要的作用,特别是近期出现的各类新型碳材料为电化学储能的发展带来了新动力,并展现了广阔的应用前景. 本文综述了碳材料,特别是以碳纳米管和石墨烯为代表的纳米碳材料,在典型电化学储能器件（锂离子/钠离子电池、超级电容器和锂硫电池等）、柔性电化学储能和电化学催化等领域的研究进展,并对碳材料在这些领域的应用前景进行了展望.     

Self‐Assembling Synthesis of Free‐standing Nanoporous Graphene–Transition‐Metal Oxide Flexible Electrodes for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries and Supercapacitors

The synthesis of nanoporous graphene by a convenient carbon nanofiber assisted self‐assembly approach is reported. Porous structures with large pore volumes, high surface areas, and well‐controlled pore sizes were achieved by employing spherical silica as hard templates with different diameters. Through a general wet‐immersion method, transition‐metal oxide (Fe₃O₄, Co₃O₄, NiO) nanocrystals can be easily loaded into nanoporous graphene papers to form three‐dimensional flexible nanoarchitectures. When directly applied as electrodes in lithium‐ion batteries and supercapacitors, the materials exhibited superior electrochemical performances, including an ultra‐high specific capacity, an extended long cycle life, and a high rate capability. In particular, nanoporous Fe₃O₄–graphene composites can deliver a reversible specific capacity of 1427.5 mAh g^?1 at a high current density of 1000 mA g^?1 as anode materials in lithium‐ion batteries. Furthermore, nanoporous Co₃O₄–graphene composites achieved a high supercapacitance of 424.2 F g^?1. This work demonstrated that the as‐developed freestanding nanoporous graphene papers could have significant potential for energy storage and conversion applications.     

二氧化碳膨胀乙醇体系中碳基金属复合物的合成及其催化和电化学性能(英文)

与块体材料相比,功能复合材料表现了更加优异的性能,而且比其中任何单一组分的性能都好,因此在催化、锂离子电池等领域得以广泛研究.通常情况下,在复合材料的制备中金属或金属氧化物粒子要求能够以足够小的粒径在基底上均匀分散,并实现活性组分负载量的可控.据报道,很多方法可以将金属(或氧化物)活性组分引入到载体之中,比如水热/溶剂热、水解、热分解、化学气相沉积等,但这些方法均存在如下缺点.第一,为了获得满意的负载量和可控包覆,碳基底需要预氧化处理使其表面含有丰富的含氧官能团.例如,由于碳纳米管自身的相容性和加工性较差,需要硝酸预氧化处理;石墨烯也需要预处理为石墨烯氧化物然后再进行第二组分的负载.但是,剧烈的氧化处理条件不可避免地造成对碳sp~2结构和电子特性的破坏,并且增加了繁杂的后续处理过程.第二,金属组分前驱体在基底上负载不完全,易形成自由粒子聚集在溶液中,从而降低活性组分的有效利用.第三,传统方法中由于使用水、乙醇等表面张力大的极性溶剂,导致粒子结晶再生长,形成的颗粒尺寸大,对催化剂会降低活性表面积及催化效率;对于电池材料会增加电极/电解液的接触面积,增加锂离子的扩散距离及电池充电过程的内部应力.而且,有机溶剂由于粘度大,不利于金属纳米粒子在基底上的均匀分散及合成过程的绿色化.因此,我们利用资源丰富,廉价的二氧化碳作为绿色溶剂,研究了二氧化碳膨胀的乙醇体系中金属(氧化物)纳米粒子在碳基底上均匀负载的方法.由于超临界二氧化碳具有独特的低粘度、"零"表面张力、高扩散能力、以及物性参数随温度和压力可调等特点,可以使金属(氧化物)前驱体不受液体毛细作用的限制在孔道中快速、均一地分散,保证孔结构稳定,对多孔复合材料的加工和制备表现了巨大的优势.同时,超临界二氧化碳的抗溶剂能力也能够有效降低乙醇和水引起的溶剂效应,从而降低纳米粒子之间的聚集.此外,通过改变前驱体的浓度可以精确调控表面组分的负载量.更重要的是,碳基底可以直接利用制备碳基复合材料,无需任何预处理及表面活性剂参与,避免了前处理对基底的形貌和电子特性的破坏.本综述首先介绍了超临界二氧化碳膨胀乙醇体系的属性,讨论了碳基复合材料在该体系中的形成机理.然后分别介绍了零维碳球、一维碳纳米管、二维石墨烯、三维多孔碳材料作为基底形成的一系列金属(氧化物)复合材料,及这些材料在催化和锂离子电池领域中的应用.最后,对超临界二氧化碳沉积方法的应用进行了总结和展望.     

静电自组装方法合成的具有多孔三维网络结构的Fe_3O_4/石墨烯复合材料作为高性能锂离子电池负极材料(英文)

采用静电自组装方法,分两步合成Fe(OH)3/GO前驱体(GO:氧化石墨烯),再通过水热反应和600°C高纯氮气气氛下煅烧,获得了Fe3O4/石墨烯复合材料.通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、高分辨透射电镜(HRTEM)、拉曼(Raman)光谱等多种分析,发现该复合材料具有三维多孔石墨烯网络结构.把合成的这种Fe3O4/石墨烯复合材料作为锂离子电池负极材料,电化学测试结果表明其具有优良的电化学性能:首次放电容量为1390 mAh·g-1,50次循环后容量为819 mAh·g-1.通过对比实验表明,三维石墨烯网络结构的形成对复合材料的电化学循环稳定性起着关键作用.     

氧化石墨烯浓度对还原氧化石墨烯/ZnS电化学性能的影响

以氧化石墨烯(GO)、乙酸锌(Zn(CH₃COO)₂)和硫脲为原料,采用水热法成功制备了还原氧化石墨烯/ZnS(rGO/ZnS)复合材料,并将该材料用作锂离子电池负极。高导电性的 rGO可以为锂离子和电子的传输提供有效的路径,ZnS可以提供较高的理论比容量。rGO/ZnS复合材料在rGO与纳米级高度分散的类球形ZnS颗粒协同作用下展现了较好的嵌锂容量和循环性能。当GO质量浓度为2 mg·mL^-1时制备的rGO/ZnS复合材料的倍率性能最好,循环稳定性最佳。     

锂硫电池用石墨烯基材料的研究进展

锂硫电池因其理论能量密度高、资源丰富和环境友好等优势,被认为是最有发展前景的下一代电化学储能系统之一。然而,硫的绝缘性、充放电中间产物多硫化物的溶解和扩散、硫的体积膨胀以及锂负极安全性等问题,严重制约着锂硫电池的商业应用。石墨烯因其具有高导电、高柔性等诸多优异特性而被广泛研究,将其用于锂硫电池的正极载体、隔膜涂层和集流体中,以期实现高比能、高稳定性的锂硫电池。本文综述了石墨烯基材料,包括石墨烯、功能化石墨烯、掺杂石墨烯和石墨烯复合物,在锂硫电池中应用的研究进展,并展望了锂硫电池用石墨烯基材料的未来发展方向。     

Inherent Impurities in Graphene/Polylactic Acid Filament Strongly Influence on the Capacitive Performance of 3D-Printed Electrode

Additive manufacturing or 3D-printing have become promising fabrication techniques in the field of electrochemical energy storage applications such as supercapacitors, and batteries. Of late, a commercially available graphene/polylactic acid (PLA) filament has been commonly used for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D-printing in the fabrication of electrodes for supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries. This graphene/PLA filament contains metal-based impurities such as titanium oxide and iron oxide. In this study, we show a strong influence of inherent impurities in the graphene/PLA filament for supercapacitor applications. A 3D-printed electrode is prepared and subsequently thermally activated for electrochemical measurement. A deep insight has been taken to look into the pseudocapacitive contribution from the metal-based impurities which significantly enhanced the overall capacitance of the 3D-printed graphene/PLA electrode. A systematic approach has been shown to remove the impurities from the printed electrodes. This has a broad implication on the interpretation of the capacitance of 3D-printed composites.     

均匀负载氧化镍纳米颗粒多孔硬碳球的制备及其高性能锂离子电池负极材料应用

利用水热法制备了粒径为90-130 nm的多孔硬碳球, 并通过浸渍与煅烧的方法制备了硬碳球均匀负载纳米氧化镍颗粒(~10 nm)复合材料. 硬碳球的表面官能团和内部的微孔保证了氧化镍颗粒在硬碳上的均匀分布. 在100 mA·g^-1的电流密度下, 复合材料电极首次充电比容量高达764 mAh·g^-1; 在100 mA·g^-1的电流密度下循环100 个周期后电极充电比容量保持在777 mAh·g^-1, 容量保持率为101%; 800 mA·g^-1电流密度下电极的充电比容量达380 mAh·g^-1, 显示复合材料电极具有优异的循环性能和倍率性能. 硬碳的表面官能团和内部微孔为氧化镍提供了优先形核位点, 保证了二者的牢固结合, 使复合材料获得了“协同效应”, 从而使复合电极具备更短的锂离子扩散路径、更高的电导率和更多的锂离子脱嵌位点. 这种方法还可用于制备硬碳/其他金属氧化物复合材料.     

Metal Phthalocyanine‐Porphyrin‐based Conjugated Microporous Polymer‐derived Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Zn‐Air Batteries

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) as emerging porous materials with diverse structures and tunable building‐units have attracted much attention in the electrochemical field. Herein, we designed phthalocyanine‐porphyrin‐based conjugated microporous polymers as precursors for fabrication of Co, Fe, N tri‐doped graphene composites towards oxygen reduction and evolution reaction (ORR/OER). As expected, the elements cobalt and iron are well dispersed in graphene carbon and interact with the nitrogen sites, thereby providing extra electrocatalytic active sites and enhancing its overall conductivity. Benefiting from its unique design and structure, the obtained catalyst affords a superior bifunctional catalytic activity with a positive onset potential of 0.957 V for ORR, and a low overpotential of 0.36 V for OER. More attractively, the CoFeNG is employed as an air cathode catalyst in Zn‐air batteries, showing a maximum current density of 215 mA cm^?2 and good cycle stability for 20000 s. The rational design of phthalocyanine‐porphyrin‐based derivatives provides a feasible route for the construction of high‐performance ORR/OER catalysts.     

Three-dimensional flower-like nickel oxide supported on graphene sheets as electrode material for supercapacitors

Dispersed three-dimensional (3D) flower-like nickel oxide on graphene sheets was synthesized by incorporating a facile hydrothermal process with a thermal treatment process. The possible growth mechanism of 3D flower-like NiO is discussed. When used as electrode materials for supercapacitors, the resultant composite exhibits a specific capacitance of 346F/g (1.5A/g), a good rate performance and cycle stability in 2?M KOH. NiO in the composite could provide a specific capacitance as high as 778.7F/g, compared to that of bare NiO of only 220F/g. The functional features of unique 3D flower-like NiO morphology, high conductivity of graphene sheets and its protective effect to the structure of NiO result in an improved electrochemical performance.     

Recent advances of transition metal oxalate-based micro- and nanomaterials for electrochemical energy storage: a review

A key challenge in the development of electrochemical energy storage (EES) is the design and engineering of electrode materials for electrochemical reactions. Transition metal oxalates (TMOxs) have been widely used in various EES applications due to their low cost, simple synthesis, and excellent electrochemical performance. In this review, the recent advances in the design and engineering of transition metal oxalate-based micro- and nanomaterials for EES are summarized. Specifically, the survey will focus on three types of micro- and nano-scale TMOxs (monometallic, bimetallic, and trimetallic TMOxs), their composites (TMOx-metal oxide, TMOx-hydroxide, TMOx-GO, and TMOx-MOFs composites), and derivatives, including transition metal oxides (TiO₂, V₂O₅, Mn_xO_y, Co₃O₄, NiO, CuO, and Nb₂O₅), multi-transition metal oxides (MCo₂O₄ (M = Ni, Cu, and Zn), NiMn₂O₄, and N_xO_y-M_xO_y), transition metal sulfide (NiS₂), and carbon materials (ordinary carbon, GO and their composites), within the context of their intrinsic structure and corresponding electrochemical performance. A range of experimental variables will be carefully analyzed, such as sample synthesis, crystal structure, and electrochemical reaction mechanism. The applications of these materials as EES electrodes are then featured for supercapacitors (SCs) and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). We conclude the review with a perspective of future research prospects and challenges.     

Preparation of nano-structured LiFePO4/graphene composites by co-precipitation method

Graphene materials with superior electrical conductivities and high surface area would be advantageous for application in energy storage. And LiFePO₄ has been a promising electrode material however its poor conductivity limits its practical application. To improve the electronic conductivity, we prepare LiFePO₄/graphene composites in a co-precipitation method, in which graphene nanosheets are used as additives. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and their electrochemical properties were investigated by galvanostatic charge and discharge tests. The experimental results show that the capacity delivery and cycle performances of LiFePO₄ could be improved considerably by adding graphene. Therefore, LiFePO₄/graphene composites are a promising candidate for lithium secondary batteries.     

Recent advances in graphene based materials as anode materials in sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries(SIBs) have emerged as a promising alternative to Lithium-ion batteries(LIBs) for energy storage applications, due to abundant sodium resources, low cost, and similar electrochemical performance. However, the large radius of Na+and high molar mass compared to Li~+, result in large volume strain during charge/discharge and low reversible capacity and poor cycling stability. Due to exceptional physical and chemical properties, graphene has attracted increasing attention as a potential anode material for SIBs. When integrated with other nanomaterials in electrodes, graphene can improve the electrical conductivity, accommodate the large volume change and enhance reaction kinetics. This paper provides a systematic review of recent progress in the application of graphene based anodes for SIBs, with a focus on preparation, structural configuration, Na+storage mechanism and electrochemical performance. Additionally, some challenges and future perspectives are provided to improve the sodium storage performance of graphene based electrodes.     

Porous and free-standing Ti_3C_2T_x-RGO film with ultrahigh gravimetric capacitance for supercapacitors

MXene-based electrode materials exhibit favorable supercapacitor performance in sulfuric acid due to praised pseudocapacitance charge storage mechanism.However,self-stacking of conventional MXene electrodes severely restricts their electrochemical performance,especially at high loading.Herein,a flexible cross-linked porous Ti_3C_2T_x-MXene-reduced graphene oxide(Ti_3C_2T_x-RGO) film is skillfully designed and synthesized by microscopic explosion of graphene oxide(GO) at sudden high te mperature.The generated chamber structure between layers could hold a few of electrolyte,leading to a close-fitting reaction at interlayer and avoiding complex ions transmission paths.The Ti_3C_2T_x-RGO film displayed a preferable rate performance than that of pure Ti_3C_2T_x film and a high capacitance of 505 F/g at 2 mV/s.Furthermore,the uniform intralayer structure and unique energy storage process lead to thicknessindependenct electrochemical performances.This work provides a simple and feasible improvement approach for the design of MXene-based electrodes,which can be spread other electrochemical systems limited by ions transport,such as metal ions batteries and catalysis.     

Green synthesis of graphene nanosheets/ZnO composites and electrochemical properties

A green and facile approach was demonstrated to prepare graphene nanosheets/ZnO (GNS/ZnO) composites for supercapacitor materials. Glucose, as a reducing agent, and exfoliated graphite oxide (GO), as precursor, were used to synthesize GNS, then ZnO directly grew onto conducting graphene nanosheets as electrode materials. The small ZnO particles successfully anchored onto graphene sheets as spacers to keep the neighboring sheets separate. The electrochemical performances of these electrodes were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectrometry and chronopotentiometry. Results showed that the GNS/ZnO composites displayed superior capacitive performance with large capacitance (62.2 F/g), excellent cyclic performance, and maximum power density (8.1 kW/kg) as compared with pure graphene electrodes. Our investigation highlight the importance of anchoring of small ZnO particles on graphene sheets for maximum utilization of electrochemically active ZnO and graphene for energy storage application in supercapacitors.