The preparation of high specific-capacity pseudocapacitive transition-metal-oxide/hydroxide (TMH) materials into transparent micro-structure electrodes is a great challenge and has become the bottleneck restricting the performance of transparent flexible supercapacitors . Beyond that, extending the operating voltage window is an urgent need for improving energy density . Here, Co(OH) 2 nanosheets and amorphous FeOOH nanowires were prepared into transparent films through a simple and scalable bio-inspired method at the air-solution interface. Both nanostructures are enwrapped in graphene shells (Co@Gr-TFandFe@Gr-TF) for use as transparent asymmetric pseudocapacitive electrodes. The unique encapsulation structures (1) provide pseudocapacitive electrode materials, especially an amorphous FeOOH structure cathode, (2) build up rapid three-dimensional electron and ion transport pathways together with the underlying ITO layer, (3) alleviate the exfoliation and dissolution of the active materials into electrolyte, and (4) extend the potential window of the FeOOH cathode from −0.8 ∼ 0 V to −1.2 ∼ 0 V with minimal cycling stability degradation. The asymmetric transparent and flexible supercapacitor based on Co@Gr-TF//Fe@Gr-TF operated at 1.8 V exhibits good transparency (50.5% at 550 nm), high specific capacitance (25.5 mF cm −2 , one order higher than the maximum value reported for FFT-GP), and high energy density (1.04 mWh cm −3 , comparable to that of nontransparent devices) as well as a long cycle life (10 000 cycles) with high-capacity retention (83.5%).
Kelei Zhuo,Yujing Wei,Jingjing Ma,Yujuan Chen,Guangyue Bai
Several alkylmethylimidazolium tetraphenylborates (C n mim-TPB, n = 2–10) were synthesized and explored as ion exchangers in plasticized PVC membranes with very attractive sensing behaviors. And then a series of ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) were prepared and their potentiometric properties were investigated. The proposed electrodes exhibited Nernstian responses to alkylmethylimidazolium-based ionic liquid cations [C n mim] + . These electrodes were successfully applied in the determination of thermodynamic parameters of ionic liquids in aqueous solutions and in the detection of [C n mim] + in tap water and distilled water with satisfactory results. For the as-prepared ISEs, one special and important relationship was observed between the selectivity coefficients and the length of alkyl side chains of interfering cations [C n mim] + . The proper understanding of this relationship should facilitate the development of new method for the determination of ionic liquids using ISEs.
Yitan Li,Lin Wei,Cuncun Wu,Chang Liu,Yanxue Chen,Hong Liu,Jun Jiao,Liangmo Mei
Uniform zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheet arrays were grown on woven titanium wires using a low temperature hydrothermal method. Photoanodes were prepared by depositing CdS and CdSe quantum dots onto the ZnO nanosheet arrays by a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Solar cells were assembled using these nanostructured photoanodes and their photovoltaic performance was characterized. The effect of using SILAR cycles for the deposition of quantum dots on the performance of these nanostructured solar cells was investigated systematically. The overall light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 0.98% was achieved under 100 mW cm−2 illumination for flexible CdS/CdSe co-sensitized solar cells using conventional Pt foils as counter electrodes. To further improve the performance of the flexible solar cells, PbS and Cu2S counter electrodes based on Pb and Cu foils were fabricated. The best conversion efficiencies of flexible CdS/CdSe co-sensitized solar cells using Cu2S and PbS counter electrodes were 3.4% and 2.5%, which demonstrated a significant enhancement in values for short circuit current, open circuit voltage, and fill factor compared to those obtained with the commonly used Pt and Au electrodes.