High Energy Density Hybrid Supercapacitor: In-Situ Functionalization of Vanadium-Based Colloidal Cathode

A novel and creative in-situ electrochemical activation method to transform vanadium ions to highly electroactive colloidal cathode in KOH solution under electric field has been designed. After undergoing electrochemical reaction, the in-situ-functionalized vanadium-based colloidal cathode can adapt their geometrical structure to the high pseudocapacitive activity. The vanadium-based colloids//activated carbon asymmetric supercapcitor displays a high energy density of 50.4 Wh/kg at a power density of 250 W/kg, which is higher than most reported vanadium based supercapacitors. The main advantage of this system is that the materials synthesis and the device operation are performed in the same reactive environment. The obtained vanadium-based colloids can display high V3+ cation utilization ratios of about 100% for one-electron redox reactions. The present results highlight a new area of research on in-situ formation of reactive electrode materials under realistic environments, which can bring new chemistry and new structures of materials that are only present under the current in-situ reactive conditions.