High-Energy Aqueous Ammonium-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitors

Adv Mater. 2022 Feb;34(8):e2107992. doi: 10.1002/adma.202107992. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

Abstract

The development of novel electrochemical energy storage devices is a grand challenge. Here, an aqueous ammonium-ion hybrid supercapacitor (A-HSC), consisting of a layered δ-MnO2 based cathode, an activated carbon cloth anode, and an aqueous (NH4 )2 SO4 electrolyte is developed. The aqueous A-HSC demonstrates an ultrahigh areal capacitance of 1550 mF cm-2 with a wide voltage window of 2.0 V. An amenable peak areal energy density (861.2 μWh cm-2 ) and a decent capacitance retention (72.2% after 5000 cycles) are also achieved, surpassing traditional metal-ion hybrid supercapacitors. Ex situ characterizations reveal that NH4 + intercalation/deintercalation in the layered δ-MnO2 is accompanied by hydrogen bond formation/breaking. This work proposes a new paradigm for electrochemical energy storage.

Keywords: ammonium-ion hybrid supercapacitors; charge carriers; hydrogen bonds; layered δ-MnO 2; nanosheets.