Recent Advances on Multi-Dimensional Nanocarbons for Superapacitors: A Review

In general, the charge storage characteristics and overall performance of electrochemical energy devices (such as lithiumion batteries and supercapacitors) significantly depends on the structural and geometrical factors of the electrodes' active materials. The most widely used active materials of electrochemical energy storage devices are based on carbons of various forms. Each carbon type has drawbacks and advantages when used as the electrode material. Studies have been recently carried out to combine different types of carbons, in particular nanostructured carbons, in order to overcome the structure-originated limitations and thus enhance the overall electrochemical performances. In this feature article, we report the recent progress on the development of this novel class of materials (multidimensional nanocarbons), and their applications for supercapacitors. Multidimensional nanocarbons include graphenes/carbon nanotubes (CNTs), CNTs/carbon films, CNTs/fullerenes, and ternary carbon nanostructures. Various applications using these multidimensional nanocarbons have been proposed and demonstrated in the literature. Owing to the recent extensive studies on electrochemical energy storage devices and considering that carbons are their most fundamental electrode materials, the number of reports on nanocarbons employed as electrodes of the electrochemical energy storage devices is rapidly increasing. Recently, numerous multidimensional nanocarbons have been designed, prepared, and utilized as electrodes of electrochemical capacitors or supercapacitors, which are considered next-generation energy devices owing to their unique merits compared to the conventional structures. In this review, we summarize the basic motivations, preparation methods, and resultant supercapacitor performances of each class of multidimensional nanocarbons published in the literature, focusing on recent reports.