The applications of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 in electrical energy storage devices: a review

In order to meet the requirement of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and smart grids, effective energy storage devices will become imperative in the future energy technologies. However, it is necessary to further improve the energy density, rate performance and cycle performance of the energy storage devices. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) is a kind of porous materials that has attracted enormous attention due to its high surface areas, controllable structures and tunable pore sizes. Besides the applications in gas storage and separation, catalysis, sensor, and drug delivery, ZIF-8 is receiving increasing research interest in the field of electrochemical energy storage due to the advantage of synthetic method, such as simplicity and safety. By focusing on recent advances, we summarize the applications of ZIF-8 in electrical energy storage devices, such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors. We also list the current problems in applications and give the future study direction.