Can Liu

By Can Liu and Zhengjun Zhang

Micro–supercapacitors (m–SC) arise from the demand of developing micro–power system for MEMS devices, attracting much research interest in recent years. As m–SC has to achieve high areal energy and power densities, the volumetric capacitance and the rate capability of the electrode materials have become the most important concern. This review compares the intrinsic electrochemical properties of the state–of–art electrode materials for m–SC, reporting the recent advances in the three types of electrode materials. For carbon electrode materials, two developing trends are identified: one is to enhance volumetric capacitance through a proper film fabrication process, while the other one is to further promote its fast response rate by making open–structured devices. For pseudocapacitive oxides, in order to achieve better rate capability and cyclability, the relationship between the electrochemical property and the structure is worth further exploration. As an example, the composition, microstructure, and morphology of the molybdenum oxide film were optimized to realize superior electrochemical performance as an electrode material for m–SC. Architecture design is another important factor for m–SC. In–plane interdigital architectures have proven its success to fabricate fast response devices. Further study on the interplay effect between such architecture and pseudocapacitive materials is in need.

Part of the book: Supercapacitor Design and Applications