Preparation of Energy Storage Nanomaterials and Their Applications in Supercapacitors and Batteries

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy and Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 January 2025) | Viewed by 1874

Special Issue Editor

Physics Department, Gachon University, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Interests: nanomaterials; machine learning; artificial intelligence; energy storage; molecular dynamics; supercapacitor; electrochemical capacitors; energy materials; fuel cells
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, nanomaterials have been extensively utilized for realizing high-efficiency energy storage devices, owing to their unique materials’ properties. Nanomaterials demonstrate these properties, which differ significantly from their bulk counterparts, due to the increased surface area-to-volume ratio, quantum effects, and dominance of surface atoms. These distinctive properties make nanomaterials highly valuable in energy storage applications. The high surface-to-volume ratio and short diffusion pathways of nano-sized materials can achieve large power densities, as well as high energy densities. In addition, their various synthesis and functionalization methods enable the mass production of energy storage devices.

To date, supercapacitors and batteries represent the main energy storage devices that can meet increasing global demands to power various electronics, including cellular phones, laptop computers, and digital cameras. The demand for these has recently been rapidly growing due to emerging applications of energy storage in the new generation of electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, smart grids, and electrical energy storage from wind and solar power. Supercapacitors (or ultracapacitors or electrochemical capacitors) are energy storage devices that bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and batteries. Batteries store energy through electrochemical reactions. The performance of a battery is largely determined by the materials used in the electrodes and electrolytes.

In this Special Issue of Nanomaterials, we aim to cover the recent advancements in the preparation of nanomaterials for supercapacitors and batteries. Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: the preparation and characterization of nanomaterials for energy storage devices (including, but not limited to, supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, Li-sulfur batteries, electric double-layer capacitors, hybrid capacitors, and emerging electrochemical devices); emerging preparation or characterization techniques for nanomaterials utilizing operando techniques; and density functional theories and quantum computation for those energy devices.

Dr. Joonho Bae
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • supercapacitors
  • batteries
  • Li-ion batteries
  • Li-sulfur batteries
  • electric double-layer capacitors

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3460 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Capacitive Performance of Microwave-Driven CNTs on Carbonized Cigarette Filter Waste for Sustainable Energy Storage
by Young Joong Choi, Damin Lee, Se-Hun Kwon and Kwang Ho Kim
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(4), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15040257 - 8 Feb 2025
Viewed by 572
Abstract
Microplastic pollution represents a significant global environmental issue, with cigarette filters being a major contributor due to their slow biodegradation. To address this issue while creating valuable materials, we developed a novel approach to synthesize nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes on carbonized cigarette filter powder [...] Read more.
Microplastic pollution represents a significant global environmental issue, with cigarette filters being a major contributor due to their slow biodegradation. To address this issue while creating valuable materials, we developed a novel approach to synthesize nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes on carbonized cigarette filter powder (NCNT@cCFP) using a microwave irradiation and nickel-catalyzed process. The successful incorporation of nitrogen (~6.6 at.%) and the enhanced graphitic structure create a hierarchical conductive network with abundant active sites for electrochemical reactions. The resulting NCNT@cCFP electrode exhibits a specific capacitance of 452 F/g at 1 A/g in a three-electrode configuration. The integrated hierarchical structure facilitates efficient electron transport and ion diffusion, leading to excellent rate capability (91.6% at 10 A/g) and cycling stability (96.5% retention after 5000 cycles). Furthermore, a symmetric supercapacitor device demonstrates promising energy storage capability with a maximum energy density of 14.0 Wh/kg at 483.1 W/kg, while maintaining 10.4 Wh/kg at a high power density of 4419.1 W/kg. This synergistic waste recycling strategy combined with microwave-driven synthesis offers a sustainable pathway for developing high-performance energy storage materials. Full article
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12 pages, 3978 KiB  
Article
DNA: Novel Crystallization Regulator for Solid Polymer Electrolytes in High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries
by Xiong Cheng and Joonho Bae
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(20), 1670; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14201670 - 17 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 937
Abstract
In this work, we designed a novel polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)@DNA solid polymer electrolyte, wherein DNA, as a plasticizer-like additive, reduced the crystallinity of the solid polymer electrolyte and improved its ionic conductivity. At the same time, due to its Lewis acid effect, DNA [...] Read more.
In this work, we designed a novel polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)@DNA solid polymer electrolyte, wherein DNA, as a plasticizer-like additive, reduced the crystallinity of the solid polymer electrolyte and improved its ionic conductivity. At the same time, due to its Lewis acid effect, DNA promotes the dissociation of lithium salts when interacting with lithium salt anions and can also fix the anions, creating more free lithium ions in the electrolyte and thus improving its ionic conductivity. However, owing to hydrogen bonding between DNA and PVDF, excess DNA occupies the lone pairs of electrons of the fluorine atoms on the PVDF molecular chains, affecting the conduction of lithium ions and the conductivity of the solid electrolyte. Hence, in this study, we investigated the effects of adding different DNA amounts to solid polymer electrolytes. The results show that 1% DNA addition resulted in the best improvement in the electrochemical performance of the electrolyte, demonstrating a high ionic conductivity of 3.74 × 10−5 S/cm (25 °C). The initial capacity reached 120 mAh/g; moreover, after 500 cycles, the all-solid-state batteries exhibited a capacity retention of approximately 71%, showing an outstanding cycling performance. Full article
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