Fabrication of high-performance dual carbon Li-ion hybrid capacitor: mass balancing approach to improve the energy-power density and cycle life

Abstract

Most lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) devices include graphite or non-porous hard carbon as negative electrode often failing when demanding high energy at high power densities. Herein, we introduce a new LIC formed by the assembly of polymer derived hollow carbon spheres (HCS) and a superactivated carbon (AC), as negative and positive electrodes, respectively. The hollow microstructure of HCS and the ultra large specific surface area of AC maximize lithium insertion/diffusion and ions adsorption in each of the electrodes, leading to individual remarkable capacity values and rate performances. To optimize the performance of the LIC not only in terms of energy and power densities but also from a stability point of view, a rigorous mass balance study is also performed. Optimized LIC, using a 2:1 negative to positive electrode mass ratio, shows very good reversibility within the operative voltage region of 1.5–4.2 V and it is able to deliver a specific cell capacity of 28 mA h−1 even at a high current density of 10 A g−1. This leads to an energy density of 68 W h kg−1 at an extreme power density of 30 kW kg−1. Moreover, this LIC device shows an outstanding cyclability, retaining more than 92% of the initial capacity after 35,000 charge–discharge cycles.