Microwave-regulated Bi nanoparticles on carbon nanotube networks as a freestanding electrode for flexible sodium-ion capacitors

Yingying Wang; Yifang Ding; Jiawen Gao; Xin Zhang; Hongtao Sun; Gongkai Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.04.004

Microwave-regulated Bi nanoparticles on carbon nanotube networks as a freestanding electrode for flexible sodium-ion capacitors

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Aug:643:420-427. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.04.004. Epub 2023 Apr 5.

Authors

Yingying Wang¹, Yifang Ding², Jiawen Gao¹, Xin Zhang³, Hongtao Sun⁴, Gongkai Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Materials Laminating Fabrication and Interface Control Technology, School of Material Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China.
² The Harold & Inge Marcus Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Research Institute (MRI), The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802 PA, USA.
³ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Materials Laminating Fabrication and Interface Control Technology, School of Material Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China. Electronic address: zhang_xin@hebut.edu.cn.
⁴ The Harold & Inge Marcus Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Research Institute (MRI), The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802 PA, USA. Electronic address: hongtao.sun@psu.edu.
⁵ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Materials Laminating Fabrication and Interface Control Technology, School of Material Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, China. Electronic address: wang.gongkai@hebut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37086531
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.04.004

Abstract

High capacity, long cycle life, and fast kinetics are highly desired for alloying anodes in sodium ion capacitors (SICs). However, the huge repeatedly volume changes during the alloying/dealloying process cause electrode pulverization, seriously degrading the capacity and cycling stability. To address this issue, we developed a microwave irradiation technology for the in-situ growth of nano-sized Bi uniformly anchored on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The as-synthesized freestanding electrode film effectively retards the pulverization of Bi nanoparticles, enabling fast sodium storage kinetics for high-power performance (278.1 mAh g^-1 @ 30 A g^-1), as well as high-capacity retention of 94% for over 3,500 cycles. The coin-cell type SICs of a Bi/CNTs anode paired with an activated carbon (AC)/CNTs cathode can deliver a maximum energy density of 128.5 Wh kg^-1 and a high power density of 12.3 kW kg^-1 with a remaining energy density of 85 Wh kg^-1. Additionally, the flexible quasi-solid SICs using a gel electrolyte demonstrated a high volumetric energy density of 21 mWh cm^-3 with good cycling stability (90%) for over 1500 cycles. These results show great promise for our developed SICs as the next-generation energy storage to bridge the performance gap between batteries and supercapacitors, as well as for flexible energy storage applications.

Keywords: Bismuth nanoparticles; Carbon nanotubes; Flexible sodium ion capacitor; Microwave.