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• MnO 2 /CNF/Ag nanofabric electrodes are developed for flexible supercapacitors. • The brittle issue in the CNF electrode is greatly improved by an Ag incorporation. • The optimized MnO 2 /CNF/Ag electrode has a specific capacitance of 184 F/g at 1 A/g. • An energy density of 16.3 Wh/kg and a power density of 400 W/kg was achieved. • A capacitance retention rate of 87 % was demonstrated when subjected to bending. Flexible supercapacitors are gaining increasing popularity due to their potential in powering portable, wearable, and lightweight electronic devices. In this study, we have successfully developed a high-performance flexible electrode for quasi-solid-state supercapacitors by incorporating Ag into carbon nanofibers (CNF) through electrospinning, and growing MnO 2 as an active material on the electrode using an in-situ redox method. The Ag and MnO 2 co-decorated CNF electrode offers several advantages over conventional CNF electrodes, including an enlarged reaction area, higher charge storage capacity, and improved resistance to brittleness issues. Among all the quasi-solid-state supercapacitors tested, the MnO 2 -decorated electrode with an optimized Ag incorporation exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 184 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, representing a remarkable 17-fold increase compared to the reference CNF electrode. Furthermore, the Ag and MnO 2 co-decorated electrode demonstrated an energy density of 16.3 Wh/kg and a power density of 400 W/kg at the same current density. Notably, the electrode exhibited excellent flexibility, with a capacitance retention rate of 87 % when subjected to bending with a curvature ranging from 5 to 1.25 cm. Our results suggest that the Ag and MnO 2 co-decorated CNF electrode holds great promise for flexible energy storage applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the microstructure, electrical and electrochemical properties of hybrid nanofibers composed of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/lignin-derived carbon nanofibers and LaMnO3-based inorganic nanofibers for advanced applications as free-standing and binder-free electrode materials of energy storage devices. For this purpose, hybrid nanofibers are fabricated via dual-electrospinning technique and following heat-treatment at different temperatures of 700–1000 °C for simultaneous carbonization and calcination. The SEM, EDS, and XPS analyses reveal that the carbon content in the hybrid nanofibers increases with increasing the heat-treatment temperature and that La and Mn elements are dispersed uniformly over the hybrid nanofibers. The hybrid nanofibers heat-treated at 900 and 1000 °C have a high electrical conductivity of ~ 0.22 S/cm and ~ 0.35 S/cm, respectively. Accordingly, a symmetric two-electrode supercapacitor based on hybrid nanofibers heat-treated at 1000 °C is characterized to have excellent electrochemical performance such as specific capacitance of ~ 95.2 F/g at 1 A/g, power density of 667 W/kg, energy density of 17.6 Wh/kg, and capacitance retention of ~ 97% after 2000 cycles. The results denote that PAN/lignin and LaMnO3-based hybrid nanofibers can be utilized as self-supporting high-performance electrode materials for advanced energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion supercapacitors (LICs) have received widespread interests because of their high power density, high energy and long life characteristics. The electrodes for LICs play a significant role in enhancing their performance. Therefore, it is of great significance to design and develop high-performance electrode materials for LIC through integrating various materials to make up for each other's disadvantages. Herein, a bimetallic composite nanomaterial with hierarchical structures (CoSn X /CNFM) and a porous carbon nanomaterial with high specific surface area (PCNFM) were obtained through combining electrospinning, anion exchange or alkali etching and subsequent high-temperature carbonization, respectively. The LIC assembled with the pre-lithiated CoSn X /CNFM as anode and the PCNFM as cathode exhibited a high energy density of 41.48 Wh/kg at a power density of 1500 W/kg, and still had an energy density of 28.13 Wh/kg at a high power density of 7500 W/kg, illustrating its high power density and high energy density. Thus, this paper proposes an effective method for designing and manufacturing high-performance LICs. • Nanofibers with uniformly distributed ZIF-67 NPs were prepared in batches by EMAI. • Hierarchical-structured CoSn X /CNFM was prepared by anion exchange and carbonization. • PCNFM with high specific surface area was prepared by etching and carbonization. • A LIC with pre-lithiated CoSn X /CNFM as anode and PCNFM as cathode was assembled. • The assembled LIC had high power density and high energy density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, materials that possess high activity and natural oxygen vacancy have garnered significant attention as potential electrode materials for supercapacitors. In this study, we successfully prepared the Hf 6 Ta 2 O 17 (HTO) nanofibres (NFs) with an orthorhombic superlattice structure using the electrospinning technique and sintering process. The characterization results indicate that the HTO NFs synthesized at 750 °C show good micro nanostructures and outstanding electrochemical properties. To enhance its energy storage performance, additional oxygen vacancies (OVs) were introduced through a carbothermal treatment under an Ar atmosphere. Although longer reduction reaction times can produce more OVs, the integration of grain boundaries and the growth of grain size caused by large annealing times may limit its electrochemical performance. Therefore, the HTO NFs treated for 1 h (HTO/C-1) exhibited the maximum C s of 925 F·g−1 at 1 A·g−1 with a larger voltage window of 2.1 V. Furthermore, a symmetric supercapacitor fabricated by two reduced HTO NFs electrodes and 1 M Na 2 SO 4 solution, recorded as r-HTO NFs//r-HTO NFs. The device demonstrated excellent energy density of 73.3 Wh·kg−1 (at power density of 1050 W·kg−1) and a long cycling life (81.8% retained after 5000 cycles). These results suggest that the optimized reduction process can provide appropriate oxygen vacancies in HTO NFs, thereby effectively enhancing its performance. [Display omitted] • The Hf 6 Ta 2 O 17 (HTO) nanofibres (NFs) are synthesized by electrospinning method. • The micro nanostructures and electrochemical property of HTO NFs can be designed by controlling the synthesis temperature. • The carbothermal treatment carried under Ar atmosphere is used to improve the amount of oxygen vacancies of HTO NFs. • The HTO NFs treated of 1 h (HTO/C-1) presents excellent capacitance of 925 F·g−1 at 1 A·g−1. • The r-HTO NFs//r-HTO NFs device shows high energy density of 73.3 Wh·kg−1 at power density of 1050 W·kg−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) is obtained with three-dimensional (3D) structure. • The HPC with highly fluffy 3D continuous network is found as an ideal support. • HPC-supported MnO 2 nanofibers composite is achieved as a supercapacitor material. • The as-prepared MnO 2 @HPC composite has 3D interpenetrating network structure. • The MnO 2 @HPC composite presents excellent electrochemical performance. For improving the conductivity of porous carbon and the utilizations of its pore structures, a hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) had been developed with highly fluffy three-dimensional (3D) continuous network structure. Using the HPC as a support, a novel MnO 2 @HPC composite with 3D interpenetrating network structure was prepared as electrode material of supercapacitor via simple hydrothermal method. When the hydrothermal reaction temperature was 100°C, the MnO 2 nanofibers (∼5 nm) were uniformly grown on and within the fluffy 3D porous network of the HPC, forming a composite with interpenetrating network structure. The as-prepared composite (MnO 2 @HPC-100) exhibited the characteristics of both electric double-layer capacitance and pseudo-capacitance, which had a high specific capacity of 368 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 and 186 F g−1 at 10 A g−1 (50.5% retention). In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor device was assembled with a relatively high energy density of 88.2 Wh Kg−1 at a power density of 162 W Kg−1. The device had a high capacity retention rate of 95% after 10000 cycles, and the coulomb efficiency was stable at 99.7%, showing the excellent stability of the composite. Therefore, the MnO 2 @HPC-100 composite has great application prospects in energy storage. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]