Aligned Arrays of Na2Ti3O7 Nanobelts and Nanowires on Carbon Nanofiber as High-Rate and Long-Cycling Anodes for Sodium-Ion Hybrid Capacitors

Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) have attracted extensive attentions due to their integration of high-energy battery and high-power capacitor as well as the naturally abundant sodium resource. A major challenge of current SICs is to achieve high rate performance and long-cycle stability of the battery-type anode. Herein, fast sodium storage is achieved from sodium titanate (Na2Ti3O7) arrays that are uniformly grown on highly conductive carbon nanofiber networks with a high mass loading of 5.6 mg cm(-2). Nanowires and nanobelts of Na2Ti3O7 are both synthesized, and their Na-ion storage properties are compared. Both arrays can be used as binder-free and flexible electrodes, but the nanobelts exhibit higher specific capacity and better rate performance than the nanowires with similar mass loading. The difference between two types of nanostructures is ascribed to their different kinetics in ion/charge transport, according to the electrochemical impedance data. SIC full devices consisting of the Na2Ti3O7 nanobelt anode and biomass-derived porous carbon cathode are constructed, which show pretty high specific energy and power performance.

Automated summary

Sodium-ion capacitors have attracted attention for integrating high-energy battery and high-power capacitor using abundant sodium resources. By growing sodium titanate arrays on conductive carbon nanofiber networks, fast sodium storage is achieved, with nanobelts showing higher specific capacity and better rate performance compared to nanowires. This difference is attributed to their different kinetics in ion/charge transport.