A Hybrid Supercapacitor Fabricated with a Carbon Nanotube Cathode and a TiO2–B Nanowire Anode

Abstract

Recently, a new hybrid supercapacitor, integrating both the advantages of supercapacitors and lithium‐ion batteries, was proposed and rapidly turned into state‐of‐the‐art energy‐storage devices with a high energy density, fast power capability, and a long cycle life. In this paper, a new hybrid supercapacitor is fabricated by making use of the benefits of 1D nanomaterials consisting of a carbon nanotube (CNT) cathode and a TiO 2–B nanowire (TNW) anode, and the preliminary results for such an energy‐storage device operating over a wide voltage range (0–2.8 V) are presented. The CNT–TNW supercapacitor is compared to a CNT–CNT supercapacitor, and discussed with regards to available energy densities, power capabilities, voltage profiles, and cycle life. On the basis of the total weight of both active materials, the CNT–TNW supercapacitor delivers an energy density of 12.5 W h kg–1 at a rate of 10 C, double the value of the CNT–CNT supercapacitor, while maintaining desirable cycling stability. The combination of a CNT cathode and a TNW anode in a non‐aqueous electrolyte is proven to be suitable for high‐performance hybrid supercapacitor applications; this can reasonably be assigned to the interesting synergistic effects of the two nanomaterials. It is hoped that the results presented in this study might renew interest in the design of nanomaterials that are applicable not only to hybrid supercapacitors, but also to energy conversion and storage applications of the future.